ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. cut its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,314 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,132,430,000 after buying an additional 438,241 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,096,450 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $747,114,000 after buying an additional 153,944 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.3% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $717,093,000 after buying an additional 1,101,685 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $567,111,000 after buying an additional 415,878 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $111.75 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 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 business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

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.