Ryan Michael Lance Sells 500,708 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:COP traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $92.75. The company had a trading volume of 5,658,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,250,280. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.67 and a 200 day moving average of $92.46. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $79.88 and a 1 year high of $106.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $114.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 14.25%.ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 154.1% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,886 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,034,000 after acquiring an additional 17,516 shares during the last quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $309,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 22.9% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 20,937 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 2,433 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,080,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Johnson Rice lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Capital One Financial raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Capital dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.08.

About ConocoPhillips

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.