Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 264,726 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 49.3% in Q1, owning approximately 801,426 shares valued at $83,969,000.
• ConocoPhillips recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, representing a dividend yield of 3.3%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for ConocoPhillips, with a target price averaging $120.84.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 49.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 801,426 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 264,726 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.06% of ConocoPhillips worth $83,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Second Line Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,990 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 7,091 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.6% during the first quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,503 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,177 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE COP traded up $1.2640 on Wednesday, reaching $95.0240. The company had a trading volume of 3,046,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,098,109. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $116.08. The company's fifty day moving average is $93.78 and its 200-day moving average is $93.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COP shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $123.00 target price (up from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Melius Research assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $117.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, 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. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.95.

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.