Courier Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Courier Capital LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,489 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 377 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497,750 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,495,927,000 after buying an additional 386,276 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,440,962,000 after buying an additional 1,152,907 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,012,956,000 after buying an additional 8,575,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,063,795 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $968,410,000 after buying an additional 659,632 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 target price (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Johnson Rice cut ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.12.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $126.88 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $113.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.01. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $127.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

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.