O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 312,930 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 67,947 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $29,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Capital One Financial reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $118.95 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.87. The stock has a market cap of $144.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $121.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total transaction of $1,733,345.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,751.04. This trade represents a 53.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 686,391 shares of company stock valued at $87,590,752. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.