Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 1,310,196 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,283,828 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 1,310,196 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.46% of ConocoPhillips worth $523,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on COP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $114.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.74.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $92.86. 6,696,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,307,611. The company has a market cap of $117.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $79.88 and a 1 year high of $122.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $93.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.20.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

About ConocoPhillips

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.