ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,576 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,634.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,205,666 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $126,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194,434 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,811,289 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $717,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,101,685 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $409,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,158 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 target price (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE COP opened at $111.82 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $101.29 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $128.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

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.