Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,073 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 24,811 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 53,008 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,128,000. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 15.6% in the second quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,846 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 58.4% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 225,341 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,775,000 after buying an additional 83,095 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 38.6% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 66,033 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,553,000 after acquiring an additional 18,383 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.00.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

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

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $103.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $118.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during 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 for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.