ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,330 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,437 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $12,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 63.1% during the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.76.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $122.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,020,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,434,834. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $95.81 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $143.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.40% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.1 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.27%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.