ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Holdings Cut by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 12,467 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $21,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,194,434 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $717,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $409,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP traded down $0.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.97. 416,779 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,872,161. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.71 and a 200-day moving average of $111.90. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. 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.