Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $68.39 Million Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 683,624 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 22,884 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $68,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cypress Capital Group raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.5% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 3.2 %

COP opened at $98.42 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $113.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.97.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COP. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James cut ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.56.

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.