Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires 26,786 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 357,603 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 26,786 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $35,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 6,687 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 765,209 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $75,886,000 after buying an additional 169,033 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 47,647 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,252 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $102.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $130.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $86.81 and a 1 year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 target price for the company. Raymond James downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips 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.