AdvisorShares Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 3,584 ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,584 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 247 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 69.3% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $102.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $119.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.82.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 26.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COP. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.24.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.