Essex Financial Services Inc. Purchases 3,854 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,603 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 3,854 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $262,094,000 after acquiring an additional 46,621 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE COP opened at $101.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.03. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $117.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.72.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

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

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.