Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $2.48 Million Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,049 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 9,493 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 175,000 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $17,355,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth approximately $601,000. West Family Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 3,881 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 200.1% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,734 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 21,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on COP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $88.56 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.66 and a 200 day moving average of $104.53. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $112.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.