M&G Plc Increases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

M&G Plc lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,587 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. M&G Plc’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 69.3% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 95.6% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 313 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $126.00 price objective (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.47.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $111.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $128.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.21. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The business had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.