Sanders Morris Harris LLC Raises Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 25.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,812 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 247 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on COP. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total transaction of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.0 %

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.34. The company had a trading volume of 27,097,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,051,988. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $99.35 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.47. The stock has a market cap of $130.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy producer reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.40% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The firm had revenue of $14.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.72 billion. As a group, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

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.