Viawealth LLC Acquires 115 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Viawealth LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,985 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on COP shares. Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.8 %

COP opened at $101.33 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $86.81 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.19 and its 200 day 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

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.