Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $1.47 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,018 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 4,585 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,546,706,000 after buying an additional 5,549,078 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 83.0% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 8,189 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 159.6% during the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 151.1% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $9,580,000 after purchasing an additional 54,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 853.3% during the first quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:COP opened at $90.20 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $89.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.98. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $118.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $114.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.74 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 16.02%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price objective (up previously from $103.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $117.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.50.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.

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