Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,832 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 95,798 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $12,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 249.5% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $96.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $106.20. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $91.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $102.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Eighteen investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.76.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.