Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,749 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,807 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 23.6% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 71,097 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,488,000 after buying an additional 13,595 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew 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 valued at $262,094,000 after acquiring an additional 46,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley began 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. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was 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.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.6 %

COP stock opened at $98.34 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.05 and a 200 day moving average of $106.18. The firm has a market cap of $113.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $94.23 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its 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 return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. On average, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.