ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 225 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 69.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 150.0% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.12.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $105.15 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.11 and a 200-day moving average of $115.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $122.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

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.