Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 6,795 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,159 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,795 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $22,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 7,174 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $155,211,000 after buying an additional 32,948 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 186,535 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $18,499,000 after buying an additional 22,378 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 9.5 %

Shares of COP opened at $86.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.55 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $98.53 and its 200-day moving average is $103.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 40.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.95.

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.