Strategic Investment Advisors MI Makes New $250,000 Investment in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,516 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 32,046 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,623 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 7.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 244,225 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $27,934,000 after buying an additional 16,612 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 193.0% in the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,626 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 10,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at $337,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $102.73 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $118.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.10%.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on COP. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho raised 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 research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.89.

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.