National Pension Service Increases Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

National Pension Service raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,379,969 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 31,554 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of ConocoPhillips worth $236,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on COP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James cut ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $96.99 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $123.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $100.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.28.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.