ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lowered its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 128,784 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,032 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $12,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 53,008 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,128,000. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,846 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 58.4% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 225,341 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,775,000 after buying an additional 83,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 66,033 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,553,000 after buying an additional 18,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 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 purchase, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.2 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $103.02 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.25. 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. The firm has a market cap of $118.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.