Romano Brothers AND Company Decreases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Romano Brothers AND Company trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,145 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,752,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,952 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 512.8% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $433,757,000 after buying an additional 3,127,165 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,611,763 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $535,287,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023,263 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13,905.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,114,261 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $129,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,422,834 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $397,288,000 after acquiring an additional 776,107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.18.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $114.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $118.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $99.35 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy producer reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. The firm had revenue of $14.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.72 billion. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

About ConocoPhillips

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.