Vontobel Holding Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 14,615 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $11,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $51,213,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.1% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 21.3% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $129.53 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $95.70 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $119.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Raymond James cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 target price (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.59.

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.