ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Steph & Co.

Steph & Co. trimmed its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 535 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Steph & Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $53,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,046,263,000 after buying an additional 10,663,093 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $438,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541,504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $105.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on COP. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.65.

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.