Legal & General Group Plc Invests $303.65 Million in Phillips 66 $PSX

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,796,203 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,648,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NFSG Corp increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 105.6% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Phillips 66 during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. SWAN Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 1,055.6% in the 4th quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.93% of the company’s stock.

Phillips 66 Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:PSX opened at $237.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Phillips 66 has a 12-month low of $126.74 and a 12-month high of $246.95.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.50 by $1.91. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 4.54%.The company had revenue of $52.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 23.86 EPS for the current year.

Phillips 66 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to buy up to 11.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Phillips 66 news, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 3,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.05, for a total transaction of $743,529.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 27,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,811,683.85. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $6,450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,242,925. This trade represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 100,507 shares of company stock valued at $21,770,810. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Phillips 66 from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Phillips 66 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Phillips 66 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.56.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company’s principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.