Bank of America Corp DE Takes $1.26 Billion Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired a $1.26 billion stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter, purchasing 12.1 million shares and becoming the owner of approximately 1.01% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 82.36% of COP shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.24. Recent targets range from $130 to $169.
• ConocoPhillips exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.24 in EPS and $19.52 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 32.4% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.84, equivalent to a 2.5% annual yield.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,124,683 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,482,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.01% of ConocoPhillips as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patten Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 5,447 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 20,182 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,144 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 16,062 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $2,120,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on COP. Barclays cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Argus increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.24.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:COP opened at $136.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.58. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $85.57 and a one year high of $139.82. The firm has a market cap of $164.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips NYSE: COP is an independent exploration and production company engaged primarily in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company sells its production to refiners, utilities, industrial customers and other energy market participants.

Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional assets, with operations and development activities in the United States, including Alaska and the Lower 48, as well as Canada, Australia, Norway, Qatar and other international locations.

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