Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Increases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 200.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,734 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,158 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after purchasing an additional 924,289 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,780,782 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,366,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $90.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $99.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.38. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $86.81 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COP. Raymond James downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.