W Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

W Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,852 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. W Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cypress Capital Group raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.89.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $102.73 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $118.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.06.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.