ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,687 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 765,209 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $75,886,000 after acquiring an additional 169,033 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 47,647 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,096 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,252 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 529 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $103.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $131.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $86.81 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.31.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COP. Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.05.

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.