Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 651,703 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 62,016 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $64,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.8 %

COP stock opened at $101.33 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $86.81 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $128.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.