Conning Inc. Purchases 33,558 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Conning Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,093 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,558 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $36,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 52.5% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $1,937,000. First Interstate Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.3% during the third quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 2,815 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.7% during the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 8,258 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE COP opened at $107.84 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $125.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.90.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.