ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Bought by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,461 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 16,343 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $27,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after acquiring an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,653,966 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,386,119,000 after purchasing an additional 260,091 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,228,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,010 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $979,102,000 after buying an additional 2,467,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,304,119 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $690,897,000 after buying an additional 107,754 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,431.36. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 613,970 shares of company stock valued at $77,318,902 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Zacks Research downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Johnson Rice lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.52.

Key ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stock momentum and market reaction — COP has outperformed the broader market in recent sessions, reflecting oil/LNG strength and risk-led flows into producers; that intraday strength is a near‑term technical and sentiment positive for the stock. COP Advances While Market Declines
• Positive Sentiment: Management downplays hit to ConocoPhillips — CEO Ryan Lance said about 20% of global LNG supply is offline but described the impact as manageable for ConocoPhillips, signaling operational resilience and suggesting the company can benefit from higher global LNG/oil prices. CEO: 20% of LNG offline manageable
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds and income profile — Higher crude prices and ConocoPhillips’ recent dividend and buyback track record support income-seeking investors and underpin longer-term cash return expectations. Coverage and opinion pieces are highlighting COP as a beneficiary of elevated oil. 109‑year‑old energy giant paying $4B in dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Market structure view — CEO comments that crude could flip into contango are more of a macro/tactical observation; contango dynamics can influence storage and hedging strategies but do not immediately change ConocoPhillips’ upstream fundamentals. CEO expects contango
• Neutral Sentiment: Covered-call / options interest — Elevated price targets and volatility have made covered-call strategies on COP attractive to some investors seeking income, but this is a tactical trade rather than a driver of fundamental value. Covered-call plays attractive
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / operational risk in Qatar — ConocoPhillips has asked the U.S. for expanded protection after Iranian strikes damaged facilities and led to staff evacuations; management calls the situation a material risk to international operations, increasing near‑term operational and political uncertainty. Seeks US protection as Qatar risks test LNG growth
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales — CEO Ryan Lance sold ~506,800 shares (disclosed) and an EVP sold ~6,994 shares in recent filings; large insider disposals can spook investors and raise governance/ownership questions even if sales are for diversification or tax reasons. Ryan Lance sells shares Nicholas Olds sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution — New coverage from Truist sets a “hold” with a ~$124 target (below recent levels), signaling some analyst skepticism on upside from current prices. Truist coverage: hold $124 PT

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE COP opened at $129.32 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.27. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $131.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.33.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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.