Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,348,079 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $232,859,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.20% of ConocoPhillips as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $88.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $112.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.53. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $86.81 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

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.