Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 34.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,665 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 81,331 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $14,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 66.0% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $707,461,000 after buying an additional 3,135,315 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 190.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,664,408 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $484,539,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058,505 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,933,286 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $263,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740,009 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 6,156.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,508,169 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $135,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 146.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,315,757 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $207,816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376,509 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 topic of a number of research reports. Melius Research assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $112.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director William H. Mcraven purchased 5,768 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $96.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.97. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $106.20. The firm has a market cap of $119.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

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.