Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 401.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,541,504 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises 0.7% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $438,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.65.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $104.83 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $120.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $104.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.56.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 earnings per share 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 $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

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.