Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 255.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.86 million shares valued at about $173.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 82.36% of ConocoPhillips shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Several other firms also recently added to positions in the stock.
• Analysts remain generally constructive: multiple firms raised price targets, and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $133.16. The company also recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and announced a $0.84 quarterly dividend.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 255.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,857,206 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,334,687 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.15% of ConocoPhillips worth $173,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,331,176 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $220,506,000 after purchasing an additional 298,245 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,996,426 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $188,842,000 after purchasing an additional 160,410 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 389,995 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $36,890,000 after purchasing an additional 11,958 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,430 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $9,783,000 after purchasing an additional 53,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,892,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 411,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial set a $128.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, May 1st. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $112.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.16.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target on ConocoPhillips to $136 from $128 and kept a Buy rating, signaling more upside potential for the shares. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank lifted FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for ConocoPhillips, reflecting improved expectations for the company’s profitability. MarketBeat report
• Positive Sentiment: Norway approved redevelopment plans for the Greater Ekofisk area, and ConocoPhillips also signed an offshore exploration memorandum of understanding in Syria, which could support future reserve and production growth. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Energy stocks broadly moved higher as oil prices stayed firm, which tends to improve sentiment for upstream producers like ConocoPhillips. Yahoo Finance sector update
• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips’ Q1 earnings-related coverage focused on comparing revenue, EPS, and key metrics with Wall Street estimates, with no major surprise highlighted in the summary provided. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders approved board governance and auditors at the annual meeting, removing a routine governance overhang but not changing the core investment outlook. TipRanks

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP opened at $122.36 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 company has a market cap of $149.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $123.07 and its 200 day moving average is $106.25. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $84.28 and a 12-month high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm's revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

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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