J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 686 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 30,031 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 686 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COP. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 63.1% in the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 target price on the stock. 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.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $129.38. 3,984,807 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,121,878. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.17. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend 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.