Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,814 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 14,962 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Raymond James lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.79.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP traded up $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.46. 6,894,660 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,174,732. The firm has a market cap of $115.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $79.88 and a fifty-two week high of $125.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.13.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 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.