7,946 ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,390 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 7,946 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $5,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COP. Bingham Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,293 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 74,668 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,345,000 after acquiring an additional 9,271 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 36,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,605,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 15,426 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 2,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBH Bank raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBH Bank now owns 2,946 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Top ConocoPhillips Stories

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 Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $140.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.16. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $85.70 and a one year high of $154.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.89.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The energy producer reported $3.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.59 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 16.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 35.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COP. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $129.00 to $122.00 in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $148.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $189.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.73.

About ConocoPhillips

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.