Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Has $2 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp cut its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,130 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 401.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $438,690,000 after buying an additional 3,541,504 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased 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 $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase 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 dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, 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 Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $88.98 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $86.81 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $113.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

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.