Clarus Group Inc. Acquires 1,992 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Clarus Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 31.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,316 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the quarter. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 24,770 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the period. Barden Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,758 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 12,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 244.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 8,830 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $105.22. 1,328,816 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,905,570. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $109.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.67. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $122.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 25.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.