Moors & Cabot Inc. Buys 6,021 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,932 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,021 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cypress Capital Group increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James cut ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of COP stock opened at $95.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $86.81 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased 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. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % 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.

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.