ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,753 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 16,529 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $42,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,601,639,000 after buying an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,469,163,000 after buying an additional 1,506,599 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:COP traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $105.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,272,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,594,242. The firm has a market cap of $121.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.54. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm's revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips 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.