Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Decreases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC reduced its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,916 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 3,678 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 69.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 150.0% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Six investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE COP opened at $107.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $125.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $101.29 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 25.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.