Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 829 ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 829 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $462,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 86,088 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $9,992,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $945,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 19,006 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,561 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 5,054 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Susquehanna decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 target price (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.00.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the 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 directly owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.2 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $129.38 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $152.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $95.70 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 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.