GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Decreases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC decreased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 41.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,957 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 5,026 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after buying an additional 924,289 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after buying an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.89.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $98.70 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $101.82 and its 200 day moving average is $106.65. The stock has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

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.