1,768 Shares in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Acquired by Amarillo National Bank

Amarillo National Bank acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,768 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after buying an additional 3,497,750 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,495,927,000 after purchasing an additional 386,276 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,440,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,907 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,063,795 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $968,410,000 after purchasing an additional 659,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Raymond James reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.88.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last ninety days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $133.55 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $95.70 and a one year high of $133.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $157.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.47.

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. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

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.