ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Patron Partners LLC

Patron Partners LLC lowered its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,079 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Trust Co raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.7% in the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 50,527 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Services increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 4,708 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 2,733 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 14,554 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 126,546 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $13,323,000 after purchasing an additional 16,996 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $112.08 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. 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.