ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Veracity Capital LLC

Veracity Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 50.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,091 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,096 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COP. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Johnson Rice lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of COP stock traded up $1.80 on Tuesday, hitting $130.48. 838,115 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,645,420. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $95.70 and a twelve month high of $130.84.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

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.