Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,641,970 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 167,700 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $162,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cypress Capital Group lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.56.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $96.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $110.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.44 and its 200 day moving average is $105.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid 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 yield of 3.24%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

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.