ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. cut its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 81,086 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 7,916 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $8,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $103.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.43. The company has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. 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.