Stonegate Investment Group LLC Raises Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,326 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $5,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on COP shares. Barclays boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. 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.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $135.89.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $102.73 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $118.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.06.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 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 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.