Trust Co. of Vermont Decreases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Trust Co. of Vermont trimmed its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,672 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 569 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after acquiring an additional 8,479,963 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,085 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,132,430,000 after purchasing an additional 438,241 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,709,604 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $653,065,000 after buying an additional 109,885 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $567,111,000 after buying an additional 415,878 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.64 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $101.29 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $122.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $109.01 and its 200 day moving average is $114.90.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.94.

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.