Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 47.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,077 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,068 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $10,902,000 after buying an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 83.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 16,427 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 7,490 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on COP shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.1 %

COP traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $105.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,546,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,479,072. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The stock's 50-day moving average is $103.79 and its 200-day moving average is $107.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

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

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.