ConocoPhillips $COP Stock Acquired by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Foster Victor Wealth Advisors increased its ConocoPhillips position by 84.4% in the third quarter, adding 72,218 shares for a total holding of 157,793 shares valued at approximately $19.75 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.36% of COP.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with ConocoPhillips receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $145 average price target; several firms recently raised their targets, including Wells Fargo to $189 and Susquehanna to $175.
• ConocoPhillips reported quarterly EPS of $3.24, beating estimates of $2.90, while revenue rose 32.4% year over year to $19.52 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.84, equivalent to a 2.3% annual yield.

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 84.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,793 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 72,218 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $19,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Seamount Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 11.2% in the third quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,764 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,597,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 19,076 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,387,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,567,000. Capstone Capital Management Ltd lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capstone Capital Management Ltd now owns 7,890 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ConocoPhillips from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $161.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $145.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $145.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $133.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $85.57 and a twelve month high of $147.41.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips NYSE: COP is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company's portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.