ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 409,116 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 20,637 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $42,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on COP. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $87.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.54. The company has a market cap of $110.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.61. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $118.40. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.74 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.64%.

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.