ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Holdings Cut by Vista Investment Partners LLC

Vista Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 75.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,884 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 11,753 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $438,690,000 after buying an additional 3,541,504 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE COP opened at $101.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.98 and a 200-day moving average of $107.13.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $135.89.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.