Freedom Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,492 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 18.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,418 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at $222,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 318.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 287,127 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,546,000 after purchasing an additional 218,453 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 68,844 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $8,763,000 after purchasing an additional 23,115 shares during the period. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,561 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 price target (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six 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. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of COP opened at $107.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $123.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.