ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Arjun N. Murti Acquires 2,500 Shares

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $95.12 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.06. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 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 issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.71.

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.