Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $15.88 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lowered its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 2,780 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $15,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $135.89.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, 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 owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $99.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $94.23 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

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.