Ninety One UK Ltd Trims Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 224,821 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 42,662 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $26,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,696 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,956,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 35,496 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 5,983 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,033 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $932,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 130,355 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $15,130,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares during the period. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 6,229 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE COP opened at $127.81 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $150.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 25.61%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total value of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,836,161.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.00.

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.