Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Purchases 12,081 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 268,605 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,081 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $26,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, hitting $100.86. The stock had a trading volume of 444,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,556,596. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $116.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.89.

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.