Hills Bank & Trust Co Increases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,687 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $99.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $126.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $86.81 and a 1-year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on COP. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.