Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Increases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,815 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 7,366 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Cypress Capital Group increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on COP shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE COP opened at $104.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $119.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

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