WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 4,100 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.9%, owning 35,890 shares valued at approximately $3.22 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• ConocoPhillips reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.42, exceeding analysts’ estimates, with revenues of $14.94 billion, a 4.3% increase from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.12 and a yield of 3.4%, with a payout ratio of 41.88%.

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 12.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,890 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COP. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $7,704,000. First Heartland Consultants Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,971 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 6,779 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 65.5% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 19,641 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 7,775 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.14.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $92.11. The stock had a trading volume of 5,797,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,928,258. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $116.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

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.