Hartford Investment Management Co. Boosts Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Hartford Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 79,932 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 6,948 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $7,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $101.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.03. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $94.23 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of 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, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.72.

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.