Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 15,348 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,145,482 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 15,348 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of ConocoPhillips worth $132,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 63.1% in the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 163.9% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 380 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.24.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.1 %

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.24. 4,823,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,808,210. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $95.70 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $153.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.64.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 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 dividend yield of 2.40%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $853,669.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.