ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,860 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,533 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,541,504 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $98.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.15. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.89.

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.