Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,474 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 766 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $697,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP traded down $4.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $125.62. The stock had a trading volume of 6,288,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,343,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.43. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $95.70 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.61%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.