State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.8%, holding 436,410 shares valued at approximately $45.8 million after selling 47,400 shares in the first quarter.
• ConocoPhillips recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 18th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%.
• Analysts generally maintain a positive outlook on ConocoPhillips, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $120.84.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 436,410 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 47,400 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $45,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 7,091 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 raised its holdings in 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. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna dropped their target price 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. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.89.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock traded down $0.3410 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.6590. 4,149,780 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,122,896. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $93.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.32. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $116.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The firm had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

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

ConocoPhillips Company 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.