Confluence Investment Management LLC Purchases 297 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,852 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $155,211,000 after purchasing an additional 32,948 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 2,991 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,235,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,884 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $4,698,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.71.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $100.08 on Friday. 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. 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 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.20.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its 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. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

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

About ConocoPhillips

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.