Smith Group Asset Management LLC Invests $283,000 in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $552,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 310.1% in the fourth quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 365 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 214.5% during the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 15,149 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 10,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,914 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased 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 represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was 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.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $101.49 on Thursday. 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 50 day moving average price of $102.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.19. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COP. Truist Financial raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.89.

About ConocoPhillips

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.