ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by Nicolet Advisory Services LLC

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,363 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in 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. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $111.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. 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.