Independence Bank of Kentucky Boosts Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,590 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $51,213,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 21.3% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. 80.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.8 %

COP stock opened at $123.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $91.53 and a twelve month high of $138.49.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The energy producer reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.10). ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 27.27% and a net margin of 18.66%. The company had revenue of $12.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 27th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.65%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 569,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total transaction of $69,546,516.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,221,360.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $124.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 24th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.42.

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 and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; various LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.