Palisade Asset Management LLC Sells 180 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Palisade Asset Management LLC cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,542 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,132,430,000 after purchasing an additional 438,241 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,096,450 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $747,114,000 after buying an additional 153,944 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $717,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,685 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $567,111,000 after acquiring an additional 415,878 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on COP. Scotiabank cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.1 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $111.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $128.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $108.91 and its 200 day moving average is $111.40. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

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

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips 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.