Westpac Banking Corp Makes New Investment in Phillips 66 $PSX

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Phillips 66 by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,930,038 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,701,052,000 after acquiring an additional 205,480 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,766,779,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Phillips 66 by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,589,550 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,043,996,000 after purchasing an additional 175,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Phillips 66 by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,413,824 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,338,596,000 after purchasing an additional 45,340 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,093,206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.93% of the company’s stock.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

Shares of PSX opened at $243.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $97.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.68. Phillips 66 has a 12 month low of $124.88 and a 12 month high of $246.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $198.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.44.

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

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is 28.95%.

Phillips 66 announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PSX has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Phillips 66 from $218.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Phillips 66 from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Phillips 66 from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Phillips 66 from $183.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.56.

Insider Activity at Phillips 66

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

About Phillips 66

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.