ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Ellenbecker Investment Group

Ellenbecker Investment Group trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,561 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,059 shares during the period. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,077 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 4,377 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 165,048 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $19,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,771,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,396,998. 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 50 day moving average price of $120.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.31. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $95.70 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for 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 company posted $2.71 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.24.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.