Syntax Research Inc. Invests $3.24 Million in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 30,727 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,235,000. ConocoPhillips makes up 2.2% of Syntax Research Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $139.24.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:COP traded down $2.41 on Wednesday, hitting $95.85. 8,461,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,047,130. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50-day moving average price is $107.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.41. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $95.75 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips's revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share 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 $0.78 dividend. 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 3.26%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 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.