ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 35.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,868 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $21,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,475,842 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $543,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,063 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 33,184 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 29,265 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,902,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,750,826 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $174,069,000 after acquiring an additional 540,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,206 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on COP shares. TD Cowen started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 target price for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $99.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $126.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $86.81 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.65.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

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.