Good Life Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Good Life Advisors LLC lessened its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,203 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $51,213,000 after acquiring an additional 9,313 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.1% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Scotiabank upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Johnson Rice cut ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.35.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of COP stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $127.28. 4,629,623 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,774,988. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $95.70 and a fifty-two week high of $128.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $149.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.61%.

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.