Meyer Handelman Co. Increases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 96.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 150,968 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,308 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $14,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 95.6% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 313 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.65.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $104.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.56. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19.

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

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.