ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Purchased by Clarius Group LLC

Clarius Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 38.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,667 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,676 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,978,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% in 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. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.0% in the third quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 $2,061,205. This 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $136.00.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE COP traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.76. The company had a trading volume of 8,546,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,479,072. The firm's 50 day moving average is $103.79 and its 200 day moving average is $107.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $121.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. ConocoPhillips's revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 37.10%.

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.