Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,330,244 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 101,731 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $218,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $118.84 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $84.28 and a 52-week high of $135.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.93 and a 200 day moving average of $106.13. 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 company has a market capitalization of $144.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,448,500. This trade represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total transaction of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips’ Q1 earnings update was in line to better than expected on key metrics, reinforcing the view that the company’s upstream portfolio is still generating solid cash flow and profitability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted ConocoPhillips as a strong buy and argued that long-term cash flow tailwinds could support additional upside, which may be helping sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital maintained an outperform rating and raised its price target to $135, signaling continued confidence in ConocoPhillips’ valuation and earnings potential. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: News that ConocoPhillips, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy will assess a Syrian offshore gas block, along with TotalEnergies’ expansion in Egypt, adds to the company’s exploration optionality and could support future reserve growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed the board, governance and auditors at the annual meeting, removing a potential source of uncertainty but not materially changing the near-term investment case. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles comparing COP with other value stocks are more about valuation screening than a direct operational catalyst, so they are likely to have limited immediate impact on the shares. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.84.

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.