Well Done LLC Raises Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Well Done LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,875 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Well Done LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,012,956,000 after purchasing an additional 8,575,696 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497,750 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $310,102,000. Cowa LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 6,475.2% during the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 2,375,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,383,000 after acquiring an additional 2,339,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $186,330,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $127.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,797,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,727,014. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $128.64.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Johnson Rice downgraded ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.12.

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.