Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,468,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,083 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at $30,021,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.3 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $102.91 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $101.29 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Argus raised ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.