HF Advisory Group LLC Purchases 694 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,033 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the first quarter worth $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $51,213,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.1% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 21.3% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $127.98. The stock had a trading volume of 580,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,410,835. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $150.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $119.92 and a 200-day moving average of $117.01.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.61%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 target price (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Scotiabank raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.00.

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.