ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stake Reduced by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. lowered its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 743 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $78,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after buying an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $126,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,434 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $409,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,762,431 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $351,602,000 after purchasing an additional 712,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:COP opened at $103.26 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $108.30 and its 200-day moving average is $113.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The firm has a market cap of $119.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.85 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $136.94.

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.