Pitcairn Co. Reduces Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,314 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,421,000. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 267,329 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $28,144,000 after purchasing an additional 45,542 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 88,048 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,269,000 after purchasing an additional 9,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,363 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of COP opened at $111.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $128.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $108.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. 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.