State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 240,393 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 8,368 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $22,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,167 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 89,942 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $8,508,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 44.0% during the third quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,593 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $98.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $106.20. The firm has a market cap of $122.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,970.24. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on COP shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Johnson Rice lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.96.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.