ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 413,432 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 77,411 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $41,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in 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. Hedge funds and other 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 the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on COP. Barclays increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.89.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $101.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.20. The firm has a market cap of $117.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 0.86 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

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.