ProShare Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 245,094 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 33,970 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $23,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COP. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.8% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,069 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $247,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $482,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 55,755 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 15th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.78.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $107.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $132.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.32. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $108.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.89.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.