Clarius Group LLC Acquires 2,676 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 38.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,667 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cypress Capital Group grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.0% during the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $105.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $103.79 and a 200 day moving average of $107.47. 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 company has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company 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. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents 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.

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.