Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor Reduces Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor decreased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 36.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,867,249 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,048,529 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up about 1.6% of Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $194,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $11,256,713,000 after purchasing an additional 408,304 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,880,151,000 after buying an additional 2,350,645 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,407,770,000 after buying an additional 648,432 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,389,862,000 after buying an additional 193,401 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of COP stock opened at $127.64 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $114.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The company had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $124.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.48.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.