Washington Trust Bank Boosts Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Washington Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 822.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,027 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,196 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $7,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,672,104 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,211,901,000 after buying an additional 108,956 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,495,927,000 after acquiring an additional 386,276 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,011,035 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,394,162,000 after purchasing an additional 270,859 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,063,795 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $968,410,000 after purchasing an additional 659,632 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,425,948 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $861,930,000 after purchasing an additional 204,714 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 12,150 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.44, for a total transaction of $1,536,246.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,161.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 664,350 shares of company stock valued at $83,537,680. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $142.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.35.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:COP traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $113.64. 4,181,231 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,467,672. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.23. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $99.35 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy producer reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 18.40%. The company had revenue of $14.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.72 billion. On average, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

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.