Smith Salley Wealth Management Sells 428 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Smith Salley Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,173 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 6,380 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. TCP Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $243,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 126.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,354 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 8,572 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,878,000 after purchasing an additional 3,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Value Holdings Management CO. LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,108,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $105.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $103.79 and a 200-day moving average of $107.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. 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 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.