Sanders Morris Harris LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC cut its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 63.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 17,588 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 7,490 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $262,094,000 after buying an additional 46,621 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $104.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.56. The company has a market capitalization of $121.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought 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 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.65.

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.