Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 1,835 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,985 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,835 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 247 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 69.3% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $108.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $109.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on COP. Mizuho lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $129.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.06.

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, 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.