Hickory Asset Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,325 ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,325 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 401.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $438,690,000 after buying an additional 3,541,504 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $97.35. 11,773,544 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,715,071. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $100.30 and a 200-day moving average of $105.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share 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 forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho upgraded ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the business's 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. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips 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.