Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Trims Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 84.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,850 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 20,471 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.7% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,382,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,623,946,000 after purchasing an additional 287,970 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,393,875 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,291,706,000 after buying an additional 224,201 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $966,267,000 after buying an additional 2,575,803 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $707,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135,315 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,424,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $577,471,000 after acquiring an additional 244,810 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.08.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $92.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.32. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $106.20.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.52%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director William H. Mcraven purchased 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.