J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,031 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 686 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,012,956,000 after buying an additional 8,575,696 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,964,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497,750 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $310,102,000. Cowa LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6,475.2% during the first quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 2,375,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $186,330,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded up $1.57 on Friday, hitting $129.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,984,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,121,878. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.56 and a 200-day moving average of $117.17. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $152.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. Company 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.