ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 24.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,063 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 32,046 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,665,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 19,623 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 244,225 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $27,934,000 after buying an additional 16,612 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 193.0% in the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,626 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,902,000 after buying an additional 10,951 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $337,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.46. The stock had a trading volume of 4,742,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,869,779. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $102.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $116.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. 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.