Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $3.46 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 29,794 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after buying an additional 3,497,750 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,495,927,000 after buying an additional 386,276 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,440,962,000 after buying an additional 1,152,907 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,012,956,000 after buying an additional 8,575,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,063,795 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $968,410,000 after buying an additional 659,632 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 target price (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.35.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $127.28 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $128.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

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.