ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 32.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,552 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 10,909 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Johnson Rice cut shares of ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Mcraven bought 5,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at $499,970.24. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $95.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $117.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.32. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $106.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $92.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.