Great Lakes Advisors LLC Reduces Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,014,917 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 21,331 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises about 1.0% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $116,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,600 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,438 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 81.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,665 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,874,000. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth approximately $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.02. 5,229,946 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,660,849. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $102.27 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $123.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $111.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.94.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COP. StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up previously from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Argus raised ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.24.

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.