Delta Financial Advisors LLC Sells 3,399 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,089 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 3,399 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 7,174 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $96.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.28. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $123.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.