ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,956 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,259 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. One Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 2,526 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 892,608 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $102,097,000 after acquiring an additional 264,600 shares during the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Excalibur Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 2,902,005 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $331,931,000 after buying an additional 155,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.6 %

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

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.