Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $17.76 Million Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,719 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $17,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.71.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $101.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 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 50-day moving average price is $104.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.74.

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

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 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.