Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 63.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 440,852 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 777,470 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $46,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,990 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 7,091 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,503 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,177 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $123.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Sunday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $95.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $116.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.45 and its 200 day moving average is $93.51.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.88%.

ConocoPhillips 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.