ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Acquired by Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,621 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,163,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $122,628,000 after acquiring an additional 52,334 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $126,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,434 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,679 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,967,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 23,817 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $26,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on COP. Barclays cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $97.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $100.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.44. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.