Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd Sells 6,000 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,470 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips comprises 0.3% of Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted 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. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $262,094,000 after buying an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.89.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $99.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.32. The firm has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.