New York Life Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 173,315 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 18,617 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $17,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $96.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $94.23 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. Analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

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.