Alta Advisers Ltd Has $438,000 Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,412 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $12,081,491,000 after purchasing an additional 12,751,120 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,101,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,027 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,397,360 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,544,101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,420,058 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,430,034,000 after buying an additional 862,707 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:COP opened at $87.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $130.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.11. The company has a market cap of $110.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.32.

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.