Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Lowers Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,461 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,029 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $105.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.47. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

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.