Equitable Trust Co. Grows Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 697 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the first 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 buying an additional 8,479,963 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,672,104 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,211,901,000 after buying an additional 108,956 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after buying an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,986,970 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,907,542,000 after buying an additional 826,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,011,035 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,394,162,000 after buying an additional 270,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $159.00 price target (up previously from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.65.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE COP opened at $113.79 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $111.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $133.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $102.27 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

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.