ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Given New $151.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $149.00 to $151.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the energy producer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on COP. UBS Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Mizuho restated a neutral rating and issued a $139.00 target price (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an overweight rating and a $158.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $142.76.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $123.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.25. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $97.42 and a twelve month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Dominic E. Macklon sold 23,372 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.17, for a total transaction of $2,621,637.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares in the company, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,752,325,000 after buying an additional 4,726,952 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 512.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $433,757,000 after acquiring an additional 3,127,165 shares during the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $310,102,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 45,426.8% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,429,085 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $171,204,000 after buying an additional 1,425,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3,931.3% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,455,878 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $185,304,000 after buying an additional 1,419,764 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.