Benjamin Edwards Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,175 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 357,411 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $41,485,000 after acquiring an additional 6,755 shares in the last quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $216,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,425,948 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $861,930,000 after acquiring an additional 204,714 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 167.6% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 346,240 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $40,337,000 after acquiring an additional 216,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.76.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP remained flat at $122.25 during midday trading on Friday. 5,020,655 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,367,984. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.81 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $143.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.25.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.61%.

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.