Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Increases Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,384 shares of the energy producer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,002 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,695,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $120.00 to $123.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.56.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 4.0 %

COP stock traded down $4.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.90. 8,561,843 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,781,136. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.44. The company has a market capitalization of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.18. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. 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.