ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,016 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 832 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,081,491,000 after buying an additional 12,751,120 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,546,706,000 after buying an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,101,989,000 after buying an additional 1,473,027 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,792,521,000 after buying an additional 3,397,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,544,101,000 after buying an additional 4,211,939 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price (up previously from $103.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $114.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.30.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of COP stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $118.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $88.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.02. The company has a market cap of $119.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $16.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 39.64%.

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.