Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 25,479 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 35.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,129 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 25,479 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 136.8% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:COP opened at $107.63 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $108.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $133.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.52.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Mcraven bought 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Capital One Financial raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.96.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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.