Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $21.78 Million Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,135 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 11,267 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $21,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 45.8% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 475 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 2,990 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Mayfair Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,627 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com cut ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.24.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $108.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,434,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,566,221. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $105.77 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy producer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. On average, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

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.