Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,040 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 12,012 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $6,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $438,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541,504 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of COP stock opened at $99.12 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on COP. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.47.

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.