ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Acquired by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,595 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exeter Financial LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 19,922 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,825 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 400.5% in the fourth quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 25,249 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 20,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marion Wealth Management grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 13,565 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $104.29 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $107.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $120.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.76.

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.