Willis Investment Counsel Has $23.39 Million Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 222,144 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up about 1.5% of Willis Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $23,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,083 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $30,021,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2,634.9% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 124,440 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $15,838,000 after acquiring an additional 119,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.2 %

COP stock opened at $110.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $109.06 and a 200-day moving average of $115.47. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $101.29 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. 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 firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 target price (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $147.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.12.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.