Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 137 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,177 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $13,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 247 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 150.0% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $103.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. 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 has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.73.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders 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 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Mizuho reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.24.

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.