Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co Makes New Investment in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Walser Wealth Management opened a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter, buying 11,690 shares valued at about $1.09 million. The stock now makes up 0.6% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 82.36% of ConocoPhillips shares held by hedge funds and other investors. Several other institutions also reported new stakes in the company recently.
• Analysts remain generally constructive: recent updates included UBS and Barclays raising price targets, while the consensus rating sits at Moderate Buy with an average target of $134.48. The article also notes recent insider selling and that lower oil prices are pressuring the stock.

Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,690 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,094,000. ConocoPhillips comprises 0.6% of Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips is advancing new upstream opportunities, including a reported gas development agreement in Syria and participation in offshore Block 3 exploration with TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy, and the Syrian Petroleum Company, which could add longer-term growth potential. ConocoPhillips (COP) Joins TotalEnergies And QatarEnergy For Mediterranean Block 3 Exploration
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley maintaining an Overweight rating and recent price targets generally above the current share price, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside. ConocoPhillips (COP) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports suggest ConocoPhillips remains focused on upstream production, reinforcing its core strategy, but this is not a near-term stock-moving catalyst by itself. ConocoPhillips Keeps Focus On Upstream Production
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary notes COP has been trading below some fair-value estimates after its recent decline, which may interest value investors but does not change the macro pressure on energy shares. A Look at ConocoPhillips (COP) After 3.1% Decline -- GF Value $109.98 vs Price $107.74
• Negative Sentiment: Oil prices have fallen, and sector-wide weakness is dragging ConocoPhillips lower despite no major company-specific negative announcement, limiting near-term sentiment for the stock. ConocoPhillips Slides as Crude Prices Retreat and No New Company-Specific Catalyst Emerges

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $107.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $888,657.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $685,488.70. This trade represents a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 127,915 shares of company stock worth $16,915,448 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips NYSE: COP is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company's activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.

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