Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Grows Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,739 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $101.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.72.

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, 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.