ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Position Cut by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,899 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 7,233 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $8,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 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 valued at $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after buying an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,194,434 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,101,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $409,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,158 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Six investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $112.32. 4,124,037 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,882,573. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $108.01 and a 200-day moving average of $111.78. 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 (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business's revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.