Equitable Holdings Inc. Takes Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Equitable Holdings initiated a ConocoPhillips position in the second quarter, purchasing 20,269 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.36% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with ConocoPhillips receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $140.29. Morgan Stanley raised its target to $151 and maintained an “overweight” rating.
• ConocoPhillips exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.24 in EPS and $19.52 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 32.4% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 20,269 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,107,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $1,169,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,896,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 153,240 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 10,779 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,608,643 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $252,256,000 after acquiring an additional 102,577 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $6,498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on COP. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings raised ConocoPhillips from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Capital One Financial dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $130.46 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $117.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $156.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $85.57 and a fifty-two week high of $135.88.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips NYSE: COP is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company's activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.

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