Balentine LLC Buys 2,020 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Balentine LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 48.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,153 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,021,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after buying an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,231 shares during the period. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth $815,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $109.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.47.

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.