ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stake Lowered by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,642 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 747 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.89.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

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

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $101.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.20. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. 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. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

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.