ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 70,094 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 7,920 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for 0.9% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $6,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after purchasing an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after buying an additional 1,506,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $99.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $114.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.05 and a 200-day moving average of $106.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on COP. Barclays decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.