Verus Capital Partners LLC Purchases 507 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,035 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 247 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 150.0% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 250 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $113.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $102.27 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $111.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Argus raised ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.