Royal Fund Management LLC Lowers Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Royal Fund Management LLC decreased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,917 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,563 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Cypress Capital Group boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.5 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $104.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.31. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Activity

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