Hosking Partners LLP Sells 52,986 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Hosking Partners LLP cut its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 324,838 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 52,986 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for about 1.3% of Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $32,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 7,174 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 13,595 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,621 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COP shares. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised shares of 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 note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP opened at $97.19 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $123.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 $3,716,400. This trade 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 acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About ConocoPhillips

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.