ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Purchased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors dramatically increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 15,532.7% in the third quarter, holding 489,302 shares valued at approximately $61.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.36% of COP.
• ConocoPhillips reported quarterly earnings of $3.24 per share, exceeding estimates of $2.90, while revenue rose 32.4% year over year to $19.52 billion. The company also pays an annualized dividend of $3.36 per share, yielding about 2.4%.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $143.29; COP recently traded near $142.34, close to its 52-week high of $142.55.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 15,532.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 489,302 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 486,172 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $61,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 73.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $12,328,767,000 after acquiring an additional 50,116,727 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $9,760,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712,703 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,566,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,759 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,413,036 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,255,594,000 after purchasing an additional 290,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth approximately $1,260,482,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $142.34 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $142.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm's revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on COP shares. Argus increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Freedom Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips NYSE: COP is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and liquefied natural gas. Unlike integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips focuses primarily on upstream activities rather than refining and retail fuel operations.

The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in major producing regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Qatar. Its U.S. operations include oil and gas developments in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, while its international portfolio includes conventional and offshore projects.

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