ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.

Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,961 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 26,711 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COP. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.32.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $88.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $130.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

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.