Holocene Advisors LP Sells 29,572 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Holocene Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,116,518 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 29,572 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises 0.9% of Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.18% of ConocoPhillips worth $222,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 692,525 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $72,909,000 after purchasing an additional 10,539 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 30,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,184,000 after buying an additional 10,623 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 489.8% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,711 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after buying an additional 22,182 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 202.5% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 321,944 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $33,894,000 after acquiring an additional 215,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $403,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $108.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $125.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.72. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

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.