Insider Selling: ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Sells 44,000 Shares of Stock

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Timothy A. Leach sold 44,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.64, for a total value of $5,044,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 578,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,347,670.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $115.39 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $91.53 and a 12 month high of $135.68. The stock has a market cap of $137.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $120.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.53.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 22.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $51,213,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.1% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 21.3% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Bank of America upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Raymond James cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.16.

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 and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; various LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.