ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Purchased by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 46.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,439 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,406 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Excalibur Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,581 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.3% during the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 2,430 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on COP shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.71.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $100.08 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.20. The company has a market capitalization of $115.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.