Smith Salley Wealth Management Reduces Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Smith Salley Wealth Management lowered its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,173 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $105.76 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.43. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.