Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. Increases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,890 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 12,751,120 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,546,706,000 after buying an additional 5,549,078 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,101,989,000 after buying an additional 1,473,027 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,792,521,000 after buying an additional 3,397,360 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,544,101,000 after buying an additional 4,211,939 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $123.00 target price (up from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.94.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $91.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $116.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.57.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.74 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 16.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 39.64%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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.