Avior Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,860 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 period. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 63.1% during the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Scotiabank boosted 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, April 11th. UBS Group boosted 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. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.59.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.6 %

COP stock opened at $129.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $119.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.93. The firm has a market cap of $152.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.24.

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

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.61%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.