Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Reduces Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lowered its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,418 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 8,408 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $13,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $13,468,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,083 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $30,021,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $103.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $101.29 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.67.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $147.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, June 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.24.

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.