Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $42.40 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Empower Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 427,511 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 124,421 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $42,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COP. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,163,724 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $122,628,000 after purchasing an additional 52,334 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 248,439 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $26,156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,214 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 389,958 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $41,055,000 after buying an additional 10,588 shares during the last quarter. Cedrus LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 244.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 8,830 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 6,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.56.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP traded down $4.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.90. 8,561,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,781,136. The company has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $100.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.44.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 40.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 represents 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.