Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Reduces Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,798 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 150.0% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 69.3% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.47.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $107.84 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $107.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.80. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $125.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

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.