Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 167,800 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,332,882 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 167,800 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $126,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenfield Savings Bank increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 9,018 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.9% during the second quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 12,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.4% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.5% in the third quarter. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,441 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,847,754.69. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $117.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $104.71 and its 200 day moving average is $96.34. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $79.88 and a fifty-two week high of $122.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.54.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.