Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 137,325 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 98.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,221 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 137,325 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,495,927,000 after purchasing an additional 386,276 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,440,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,907 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,063,795 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $968,410,000 after purchasing an additional 659,632 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.1% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,086,681 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $848,984,000 after purchasing an additional 74,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,472,590 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $775,416,000 after purchasing an additional 33,466 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.24.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $130.23 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total transaction of $5,574,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.