B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $10.29 Million Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 97,736 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,289,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after buying an additional 1,856,085 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,132,430,000 after buying an additional 438,241 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $717,093,000 after buying an additional 1,101,685 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,796 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $567,111,000 after acquiring an additional 415,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $113.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $108.35 and a 200 day moving average of $111.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $130.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its 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. The company 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous 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 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 represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.63.

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.