Founders Capital Management Acquires 254 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 37.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 932 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Founders Capital Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $92,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.6 %

COP stock traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $103.51. 3,227,790 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,298,382. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $119.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $104.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.70.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.