Connable Office Inc. Reduces Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Connable Office Inc. lessened its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,858 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 5,188 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,546,706,000 after buying an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,101,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,027 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,544,101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211,939 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,757,835 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,364,364,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,021,394 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,191,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,707 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $92.75 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $116.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.99. The firm has a market cap of $117.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 16.02%. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.33.

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.