Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 920 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,752 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,601,639,000 after purchasing an additional 924,289 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $105.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.47. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips 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.