True North Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 24,178 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,398,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.1% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 53,008 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $6,063,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,128,000. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,846 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 58.4% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 225,341 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,775,000 after acquiring an additional 83,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 38.6% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 66,033 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,553,000 after purchasing an additional 18,383 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.2 %

COP opened at $103.02 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $94.23 and a one year high of $135.18. 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 has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.25.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.