Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,916,071 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 171,429 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.15% of ConocoPhillips worth $201,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 83.0% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,897,000 after buying an additional 8,189 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 159.6% during the 1st quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,125,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $83,969,000 after acquiring an additional 264,726 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 853.3% during the 1st quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 5,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.1% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,580,000 after acquiring an additional 54,900 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 4.3%

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $94.71 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.23. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $116.08. The stock has a market cap of $118.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.88%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius Research started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $123.00 price target (up previously from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.95.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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.