Whittier Trust Co. Grows Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 331,133 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 28,488 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $43,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Patten Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 5,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,144 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,352 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.8% during the first quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $104.64 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $135.87. The stock has a market cap of $127.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.12.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COP. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Argus raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.76.

About ConocoPhillips

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.