Monarch Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,036 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COP. Scotiabank dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.1 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $121.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.47. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 2.95%. 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.