Everhart Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,182 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 78.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,979 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $96.39 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.73. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.56.

About ConocoPhillips

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.