Twin Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 42,696 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $51,213,000 after buying an additional 9,313 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.1% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 21.3% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 2,465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on COP shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total transaction of $502,781.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP traded down $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $128.05. 1,479,813 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,423,912. The stock has a market cap of $150.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $95.70 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $119.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 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 2.44%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.61%.

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.