ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Acquired by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,357,265 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 202,227 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up 1.4% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 0.11% of ConocoPhillips worth $157,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497,750 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,495,927,000 after acquiring an additional 386,276 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,440,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,907 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,012,956,000 after buying an additional 8,575,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 8.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,063,795 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $968,410,000 after buying an additional 659,632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $129.38 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 25.61%.

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.