Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,355 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cypress Capital Group raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the third 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. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 8,640 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on COP. Raymond James downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $99.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.81. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $86.81 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.05%.

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.