US Bancorp DE Sells 24,580 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 825,927 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 24,580 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $81,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,601,639,000 after buying an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,780,782 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,366,640,000 after buying an additional 1,324,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $99.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $100.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.