Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $6.82 Million Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,756 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,284 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $6,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 7,174 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after buying an additional 46,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $97.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The firm has a market cap of $124.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $99.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.03.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.