Royal Fund Management LLC Purchases 227 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Royal Fund Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,144 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 63.1% during the 3rd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 163.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 380 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 three months, insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.76.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.23. 5,020,657 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,434,834. The stock has a market cap of $143.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $123.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.73. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $95.81 and a 12 month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its 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 net margin of 18.40% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.11 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 given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

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.