ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,118 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $14,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.3% during the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 11,522 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 216.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 145.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 4,501 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Texas Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Texas Bank & Trust Co now owns 10,352 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.06. The stock had a trading volume of 6,977,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,638,942. The company has a market cap of $132.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.66.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 57.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COP shares. Capital One Financial reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.04.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.