Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $815,000 in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,219 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade 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

Shares of COP stock opened at $102.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $118.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on COP. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.89.

About ConocoPhillips

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.