ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Position Boosted by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,256 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fractal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 4,492 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 21,326 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,115,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,085 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 201.8% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 11,573 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 7,738 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 253,986 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,187,000 after purchasing an additional 25,761 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Two investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.89.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $98.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.