Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 16,789 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. decreased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 240,874 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 16,789 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $27,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Investment Counsel Inc bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $228,000. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 9,463 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,563,044 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,422,000 after acquiring an additional 23,572 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,262,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $123.54. 5,901,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,368,249. The company has a market cap of $144.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.25. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $97.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $124.31 and its 200 day moving average is $117.59.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COP. Truist Financial cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.76.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.