South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 48,879 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

South Dakota Investment Council increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 315,079 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,879 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips accounts for approximately 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $31,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 7,174 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after acquiring an additional 13,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,094,000 after acquiring an additional 46,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This trade 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 the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COP. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 4.0 %

COP opened at $97.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $100.11 and its 200 day moving average is $105.44.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

ConocoPhillips 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.