Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,419 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 7,482 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 63.1% in the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $131.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.81. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $154.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.