Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,797 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after buying an additional 1,856,085 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $126,933,000 after buying an additional 1,194,434 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $717,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 46.0% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $409,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price target (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $112.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $107.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.90. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $101.29 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.