Certuity LLC Sells 698 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Certuity LLC reduced its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,066 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 698 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COP. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $13,468,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,083 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at about $30,021,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.24.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $106.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.20 and its 200 day moving average is $117.00. The stock has a market cap of $123.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $102.27 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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.