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

South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 315,079 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 48,879 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips accounts for 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, 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 reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. State Street Corp grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 4.0 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $97.90 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.44. The company has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

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.