Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 4,807 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,749 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 4,807 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $262,094,000 after buying an additional 46,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after buying an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.6 %

COP stock opened at $98.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.05 and a 200-day moving average of $106.18. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $113.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.29.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $135.89.

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.