Fulton Bank N.A. Cuts Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Fulton Bank N.A. decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,185 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,452 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 95.6% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 313 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $101.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,870,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,727,060. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $104.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.97. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $116.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19.

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

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COP. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of 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 boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.71.

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.