Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $2.50 Million Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,253 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 2,576 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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 restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $136.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.45. 4,519,146 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,748,404. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.31. The company has a market cap of $120.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company's revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

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.