ConocoPhillips $COP Stock Holdings Lifted by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 396,273 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $37,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 165,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $15,520,000 after purchasing an additional 10,116 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,353 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,324 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 3,293 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.16.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE COP opened at $132.02 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $163.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.71.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,488.70. This trade represents a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $317,630.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,747.84. The trade was a 31.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 621,670 shares of company stock worth $78,320,133 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.