Argyle Capital Management LLC Buys 681 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,587 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips makes up approximately 1.5% of Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,350 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $159,000. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 89.8% during the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,164 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $710,000 after buying an additional 3,390 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 211,912 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $21,015,000 after buying an additional 16,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 11,933.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,461,117 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $97.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $123.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.11 and a 200-day moving average of $105.16.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on COP. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.