Independent Advisor Alliance Lowers Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Independent Advisor Alliance trimmed its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,925 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,025 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 167,966 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $17,683,000 after acquiring an additional 15,487 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 22,056 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,322,000 after buying an additional 4,346 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.2% during the third quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 142,268 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 5,795 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 24,070 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,534,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $111.75 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The firm has a market cap of $128.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change 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.