Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,241 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,377 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $10,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $124.85 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.44. The stock has a market cap of $152.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.14. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $84.28 and a 52-week high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Capital One Financial boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,431.36. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.