Kentucky Trust Co Buys Shares of 1,509 ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,509 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $150,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,163,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $122,628,000 after acquiring an additional 52,334 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 14.0% during the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 7.4% during the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,168 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.3% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 53,547 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $5,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $101.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.91 and a 200-day moving average of $106.03. The company has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.72.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.