ConocoPhillips $COP Stock: SVB Wealth LLC Cuts Holdings

SVB Wealth LLC decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,742 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 5,699 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,328,767,000 after acquiring an additional 50,116,727 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,260,482,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,204,726,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1,181.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,172,490 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,022,787,000 after purchasing an additional 7,534,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $716,151,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting ConocoPhillips

Investors following COP have been watching these stories:

• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips’ Permian president discussed efforts to get more value from each well; the report does not specify quantified results or a new production target. ConocoPhillips Permian president talks unlocking more value from every well
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its rating from outperform to market perform and lowered its price target to $122, implying notable downside from the referenced share price. Sanford C. Bernstein stock recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker also downgraded COP, from buy to hold, with a $138 target. Separately, the recent analysis cautions that the stock’s 127.4% five-year gain may have stretched its valuation relative to earnings. ConocoPhillips stock moved down to hold by Freedom Broker ConocoPhillips stock looks like a bargain after fresh results

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $140.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $165.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $137.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.70 and a 12-month high of $154.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The energy producer reported $3.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.59 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.55% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $149.00 target price on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.73.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips is an independent exploration and production company focused on finding, developing and producing oil and natural gas. Its products include crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operates in several regions, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Its activities span exploration, development and production, with a portfolio that includes both conventional and unconventional resources. ConocoPhillips was formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco and Phillips Petroleum.