Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,659 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COP. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,480 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,432 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,295 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,910 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $293,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.65.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.45 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.56. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19.

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

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.