Sheets Smith Wealth Management Purchases 270 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,571 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,021,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,640,000 after acquiring an additional 4,578 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% in the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after buying an additional 7,490 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 30,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,434,000 after buying an additional 8,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $815,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 price target (down previously from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $111.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

ConocoPhillips 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.