ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,143 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 9,851 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $31,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vicus Capital grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 2,637 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% in the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 36,739 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,202,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.0 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $107.89 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. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $101.29 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $108.89 and its 200-day moving average is $111.01. The company has a market cap of $124.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.