ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Acquired by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,382 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $12,081,491,000 after acquiring an additional 12,751,120 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,601,639,000 after purchasing an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,780,782 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,366,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324,771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $103.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.31. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $135.18. 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 (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

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.