2,355 Shares in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Purchased by Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,355 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Balboa Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $243,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 262,152 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $27,599,000 after acquiring an additional 12,024 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 401 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,941,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,873 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, 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 link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents 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 company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $99.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $99.22 and a 200-day moving average of $103.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 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 capitalization of $126.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

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.