Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $132.96 Million Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,145,482 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 15,348 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $132,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 63.1% in the third quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 287 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 163.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 380 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.24. 4,823,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,808,210. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.49 and a 200 day moving average of $117.64. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $153.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.