Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys New Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co initiated a new position in ConocoPhillips, buying 210,000 shares valued at about $19.7 million in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts remain generally positive on COP, with several firms recently raising price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $134.60.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, implying a 2.9% annualized yield.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 210,000 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $19,658,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 91.1% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $7,622,000 after acquiring an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $70,397,000 after acquiring an additional 44,852 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 53.5% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on COP. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.60.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.2%

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $114.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $123.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.42. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $84.33 and a 12 month high of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $139.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 57.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total value of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $685,488.70. This trade represents a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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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