Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 103,588 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,089,080 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 103,588 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of ConocoPhillips worth $358,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $51,213,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE COP traded down $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.20. 4,955,293 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,864,192. The firm has a market cap of $154.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $118.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $95.70 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COP. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.59.

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.