ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by First County Bank CT

First County Bank CT reduced its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,111 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 972 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.71.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.4 %

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $101.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,913,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,883,515. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $104.72 and its 200-day moving average is $108.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid 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 3.08%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.