Candriam S.C.A. Raises Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,491 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 22,773 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $10,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $514,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,689 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 697 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $232,859,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 377,315 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $37,418,000 after purchasing an additional 43,449 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % 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 company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:COP opened at $90.70 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $86.81 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $115.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.38.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

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.