Romano Brothers AND Company Trims Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Romano Brothers AND Company reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,047 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clarius Group LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 9,667 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 2,676 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 16,316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,812 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,463 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,036 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,507 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.47. The stock has a market cap of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips 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.