First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,801 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 541 shares during the period. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Phillips 66 were worth $6,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Phillips 66 by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 201,592 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,501,000 after acquiring an additional 22,278 shares during the last quarter. Eldred Rock Partners LLC acquired a new position in Phillips 66 during the fourth quarter worth about $10,402,000. Choate Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Phillips 66 during the third quarter worth about $247,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Phillips 66 during the third quarter worth about $753,000. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in Phillips 66 by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 14,816 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,670 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Phillips 66 from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $148.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $179.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $152.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Phillips 66 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.00.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

Shares of PSX opened at $151.52 on Friday. Phillips 66 has a fifty-two week low of $89.74 and a fifty-two week high of $174.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.88. The company has a market cap of $64.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.15). Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.68% and a return on equity of 22.10%. The firm had revenue of $36.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Phillips 66’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In related news, Director Robert W. Pease bought 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.58 per share, with a total value of $99,967.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,502. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Joseph Scott Pruitt sold 5,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.40, for a total value of $932,122.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,036,164.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert W. Pease bought 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.58 per share, for a total transaction of $99,967.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,900 shares in the company, valued at $278,502. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,056 shares of company stock valued at $5,272,681. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Phillips 66 Profile

Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas.