Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 410 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Verus Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,727 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $159,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 89.8% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,164 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 3,390 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 211,912 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $21,015,000 after acquiring an additional 16,888 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11,933.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,461,117 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448,975 shares during the period. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 102,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,138,000 after purchasing an additional 9,804 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Two 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were 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 owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % 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.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $99.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.08. The company has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. 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 twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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.