Cohen & Steers Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)

Cohen & Steers Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,838 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 7,401 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.'s holdings in Phillips 66 were worth $9,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.93% of the company's stock.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

PSX traded up $1.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $137.65. 3,486,185 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,749,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.17. Phillips 66 has a 12-month low of $89.74 and a 12-month high of $174.08. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.55. The company has a market cap of $58.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.37.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The oil and gas company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.15). Phillips 66 had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The business had revenue of $36.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 12.16 EPS for the current year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change 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 3.34%. Phillips 66's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $149.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $179.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $148.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $167.00 to $162.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $152.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.93.

Insider Activity at Phillips 66

In related news, VP Joseph Scott Pruitt sold 5,922 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,036,164.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Phillips 66 news, EVP Timothy D. Roberts sold 37,742 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.80, for a total transaction of $5,502,783.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,051,617. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Joseph Scott Pruitt sold 5,922 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.40, for a total transaction of $932,122.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,036,164.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,864 shares of company stock valued at $7,567,178. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Phillips 66 Company 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.