Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases New Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 20,791 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cypress Capital Group raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on COP. Barclays cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $98.82 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.09 and a 200-day moving average of $105.36. The firm has a market cap of $125.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.05%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.