Maiden Cove Capital LLC Has $214,000 Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Maiden Cove Capital LLC lowered its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,158 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 468 shares during the quarter. Maiden Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.8% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $105.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.47. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

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

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.