ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,762,068 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 56,974 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $373,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 7,174 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $155,211,000 after purchasing an additional 32,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 186,535 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $18,499,000 after purchasing an additional 22,378 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.95.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.4 %

COP opened at $102.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $130.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $86.81 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

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.