Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,837 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 22,261 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $5,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,750,826 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $174,069,000 after purchasing an additional 540,702 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,206 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 157.2% during the 4th quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,244 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 5,039 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,603,895 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $456,568,000 after acquiring an additional 282,990 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,779 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,945,000 after acquiring an additional 5,912 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the 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 directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.8 %

COP opened at $101.33 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $86.81 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.05.

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.