Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 405 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,295 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 405 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,163,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $122,628,000 after purchasing an additional 52,334 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 14,766 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 30,387 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 550,045 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $57,909,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on COP. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $98.82 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $125.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.36. 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 (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

About ConocoPhillips

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.