West Family Investments Inc. Increases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,498 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,097,473,000 after buying an additional 8,479,963 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,132,430,000 after acquiring an additional 438,241 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.3% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $717,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,685 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $567,111,000 after purchasing an additional 415,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COP. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $113.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $130.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $101.29 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. 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. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.