State of Michigan Retirement System Raises Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 386,328 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 32,037 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $38,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James cut ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 6.7 %

Shares of COP stock opened at $92.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.90. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $91.56 and a 1 year 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.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.05%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.