Belmont Capital LLC Boosts Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Belmont Capital LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 414.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,325 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,289 shares during the quarter. Belmont Capital LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $12,081,491,000 after acquiring an additional 12,751,120 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,101,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,027 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,792,521,000 after buying an additional 3,397,360 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,544,101,000 after buying an additional 4,211,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,420,058 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,430,034,000 after buying an additional 862,707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $88.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $112.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $130.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.58.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.32.

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.