ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by Smith Salley Wealth Management

Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,260 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Washington Trust Bank increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 65,816 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. ARK & TLK Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.0% in the second quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.2% in the second quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 9,130 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% during the second quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 10,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.6% in the second quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 23,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on COP shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Argus raised ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.65.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.79. 5,513,830 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,656,144. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $102.27 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $133.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.97.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.