ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,305 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after buying an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after buying an additional 1,856,085 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $126,933,000 after buying an additional 1,194,434 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 46.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $409,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,158 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 34.7% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,762,431 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $351,602,000 after purchasing an additional 712,062 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of COP stock opened at $109.22 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $101.29 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 27.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on COP. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reduced 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. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.47.

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.