Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 2,426 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 24.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,362 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,132,430,000 after purchasing an additional 438,241 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,096,450 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $747,114,000 after purchasing an additional 153,944 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,101,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $106.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $122.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $101.29 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COP. Susquehanna lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective 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 given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

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.