Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,471 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Cypress Capital Group boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.0% during the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $2,061,205. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COP. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.89.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $101.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $117.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.13. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. The company’s revenue was down 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

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.