Riverstone Advisors LLC Has $3.67 Million Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Riverstone Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,651 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 489 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips makes up 2.4% of Riverstone Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Riverstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Capital Investment Counsel Inc bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 9,463 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,563,044 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,422,000 after purchasing an additional 23,572 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,262,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Raymond James decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.59.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.00. 1,979,028 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,473,750. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.86. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $151.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.61%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last three months. Corporate 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.