Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 73.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,982 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 6,344 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,083 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $30,021,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after buying an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2,634.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 124,440 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $15,838,000 after buying an additional 119,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of COP opened at $105.67 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $122.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.78.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 25.86%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.94.

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.