Saxon Interests Inc. Invests $468,000 in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Saxon Interests Inc. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,028 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 4,364 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 333 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 4,702 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of COP traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $127.28. The stock had a trading volume of 4,615,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,775,693. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $95.70 and a 52 week high of $128.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.87 and a 200 day moving average of $116.08. The company has a market cap of $149.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 25.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 price objective (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.35.

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.