Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 87.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 119,000 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 69.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 150.0% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 45.8% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on COP shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $144.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.94.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $104.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.86%.

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.