Viawealth LLC Has $1.29 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Viawealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,985 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 275,049 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $27,277,000 after buying an additional 22,256 shares during the last quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,795 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares during the last quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 23,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 651,703 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $64,629,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 557,149 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $55,252,000 after acquiring an additional 7,104 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $101.33 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $86.81 and a 1 year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

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.