ARK & TLK Investments LLC Invests $305,000 in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

ARK & TLK Investments LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,632 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at $13,468,000. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 9,463 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,563,044 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $181,422,000 after buying an additional 23,572 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,594,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 56,739 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $6,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.18.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $109.39. 5,690,366 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,835,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $127.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.22. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $99.35 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.62.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy producer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO William L. Jr. Bullock sold 45,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.32, for a total value of $5,574,064.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,947.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 664,350 shares of company stock worth $83,537,680 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips 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.