Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Increases Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 20.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,332 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,598 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after buying an additional 4,578 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth $30,021,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position 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 buying an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 8,231 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:COP opened at $113.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $130.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year high of $135.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.48. 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 (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Mizuho increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips 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.