Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 6,076 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,978 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,076 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up about 0.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $12,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. 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. UBS Group raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Johnson Rice cut ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.7 %

COP opened at $126.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $149.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.49 and a 200-day moving average of $116.01. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $95.70 and a 52 week high of $127.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The company 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

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.