ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 135.1% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to nearly $20 million.
• Several analysts have issued varying price targets for ConocoPhillips, with Morgan Stanley maintaining an "overweight" rating and a price target of $119.00, while Bank of America decreased its target from $107.00 to $106.00.
• ConocoPhillips declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, reflecting a 3.3% annual yield with a payout ratio of approximately 39.64%.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 135.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 189,976 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 109,182 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $19,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 50,453 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $5,003,000 after buying an additional 5,472 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,667 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 331,975 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $32,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,883 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,277,367 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $424,186,000 after acquiring an additional 299,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 337,878 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $33,808,000 after purchasing an additional 70,549 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded up $1.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.91. The stock had a trading volume of 8,764,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,026,880. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $118.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.67. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $116.08. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $92.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.73.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.63.

About ConocoPhillips

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.