Cypress Capital Group Cuts Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Cypress Capital Group lessened its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,879 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,911 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.2% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 297,777 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $31,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,783 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 18.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $5,259,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 14.2% in the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 1,283 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.47.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of COP stock opened at $90.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.99 and a 200 day moving average of $104.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $115.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $88.47 and a twelve month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.