446,661 ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP lessened its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 36.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 774,526 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 446,661 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for 1.4% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 0.06% of ConocoPhillips worth $96,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 263.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 118,655 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $14,850,000 after acquiring an additional 86,019 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,635 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,456,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth $6,896,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth $3,645,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth about $870,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $145.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $175.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $147.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.69.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Mizuho decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company’s portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.