Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Sells 620 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV reduced its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,488 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 18.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 2,305 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,420 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 44.3% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 14,504 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 4,452 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.8 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $88.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $86.81 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

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.