Mayfair Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Mayfair Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 67.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,432 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 95.6% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 313 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.65.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $104.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.56. The stock has a market cap of $120.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips 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.