Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 13,714 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 236,529 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,714 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $23,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.0% during the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COP. Susquehanna lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $98.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $125.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.09 and its 200 day moving average is $105.36. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 40.05%.

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.