Sargent Investment Group LLC Acquires 2,820 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 56.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,819 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Capital Investment Counsel Inc bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $228,000. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 9,463 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,563,044 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,422,000 after purchasing an additional 23,572 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $2,262,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $233,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on COP. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 target price (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,823,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,808,210. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $95.70 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $153.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.