Traders Purchase Large Volume of ConocoPhillips Call Options (NYSE:COP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 58,196 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 219% compared to the typical daily volume of 18,216 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $152.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Raymond James dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $138.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.16.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $115.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.53. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $91.53 and a one year high of $135.68.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sharmila Mulligan sold 1,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.19, for a total value of $231,476.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 569,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total value of $69,546,516.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 18,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,221,360.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharmila Mulligan sold 1,849 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.19, for a total value of $231,476.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 602,049 shares of company stock valued at $73,591,956. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $51,213,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.1% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.36% 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 and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; various LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.