Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 230,621 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $21,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. RM Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,490,000. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 75,887 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,104,000 after acquiring an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 163,155 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $15,273,000 after purchasing an additional 7,825 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,961 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 430,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $40,314,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of COP opened at $119.82 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $85.57 and a fifty-two week high of $135.87. The firm has a market cap of $145.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $121.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.05%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,689.92. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total value of $1,001,231.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 671,869 shares of company stock valued at $85,857,406. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Susquehanna upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.48.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Crude-oil sentiment improved as Middle East supply disruptions and tight inventory conditions kept a floor under oil prices, benefiting large U.S. exploration and production names like ConocoPhillips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted ConocoPhillips as an energy name positioned to navigate industry pressures, reinforcing the view that COP is relatively well placed versus peers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader energy-sector strength has helped improve sentiment toward oil stocks, with the sector outperforming the market this year and drawing renewed investor attention to names like COP. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted that ConocoPhillips did not fall as much as oil prices during a prior pullback, suggesting the stock may be trading more resiliently than crude itself, but without a major company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: There was also a backdrop of mixed investor positioning, including significant institutional trimming in recent quarters, which can weigh on sentiment even as near-term oil prices improve. Article Title

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.