ConocoPhillips $COP Stock Sold by Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. reduced its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,670 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 18,125 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $14,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Patten Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 5,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.4% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 20,182 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.4% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,144 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 16,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COP. Susquehanna increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $124.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $148.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.62.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $141.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.24. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $143.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.53 and a 200-day moving average of $122.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. This 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and liquefied natural gas. Unlike integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips focuses primarily on upstream activities rather than refining and retail fuel operations.

The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in major producing regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Qatar. Its U.S. operations include oil and gas developments in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, while its international portfolio includes conventional and offshore projects.