Commerce Bank Lowers Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Commerce Bank cut its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 448,735 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 48,836 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $47,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $126,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194,434 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,101,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,050,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.59. 2,009,956 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,858,371. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. The business's 50-day moving average price is $108.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.10%.

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.