C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Sells 31,970 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lessened its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 82.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,970 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 31,970 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after buying an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after buying an additional 1,506,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This trade 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 this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.56.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of COP stock opened at $99.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $114.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.15 and a 200-day moving average of $105.51. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

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.