ConocoPhillips $COP Stake Lowered by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel cut its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 255,371 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 18,830 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips comprises approximately 1.4% of Willis Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $31,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 263.6% in the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 118,655 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $14,850,000 after acquiring an additional 86,019 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 55.9% in the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,635 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $6,896,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $3,645,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $870,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on COP shares. UBS Group increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $124.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have given 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.37. 1,995,202 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,023,821. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.46. The firm has a market cap of $174.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $147.15.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company’s portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.