Insider Buying: ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Purchases 2,500 Shares of Stock

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,540,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,158,532. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $109.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $136.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504,653 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.