Principal Securities Inc. Has $2.66 Million Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Principal Securities Inc. decreased its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,825 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 3,832 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.56.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE COP traded down $4.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.90. 8,561,843 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,781,136. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company's fifty day moving average is $100.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.44. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

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.