Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 19,903 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,334 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 19,903 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $5,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after purchasing an additional 924,289 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.6 %

COP stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $100.68. 1,062,440 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,036,060. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.85 and a 200-day moving average of $108.20. 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 has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.71.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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.