ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Bought by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 986.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 611,243 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 555,000 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up 1.8% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $57,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COP. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 128,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $13,506,000 after buying an additional 34,195 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,291 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,215 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4,482.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 49,577 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $5,204,000 after acquiring an additional 48,495 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 48.1% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 11,980 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,149 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips’ CEO Ryan Lance will attend the White House meeting on Venezuela, putting COP in direct discussions about potential access to Venezuelan oil assets and future investment opportunities. Reuters: ConocoPhillips says CEO will attend White House meeting
• Positive Sentiment: President Trump stated oil companies would spend roughly $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector and indicated the U.S. would decide which firms can operate there — a large potential investment pool for participating majors like COP. Trump: Oil companies will spend $100 billion in Venezuela
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. energy officials say ConocoPhillips and peers are evaluating what role they could play in Venezuela; this is an exploratory phase with no guarantees of contracts or timing. Financial Post: ConocoPhillips and Exxon look at Venezuela role
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. Treasury commentary suggests the largest oil companies will likely move more cautiously into Venezuela than independents, implying COP may be slower to deploy capital despite big potential opportunities. Reuters: Bessent says largest oil companies likely move slower
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are trimming targets on COP: Bernstein cut its price target to $98 (from $116), signaling lowered near-term expectations despite keeping an Outperform rating. InsiderMonkey: Bernstein trims price target on ConocoPhillips
• Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research also lowered its price target, reflecting analyst caution that may pressure the stock until clarity on cash flows or clear commitments emerge. AmericanBankingNews: Wolfe Research Cuts ConocoPhillips Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that U.S. oil companies want “serious guarantees” from Washington before making large Venezuelan investments highlight legal/regulatory risk that could delay or limit COP’s participation. Reuters: US oil companies say they need guarantees to invest in Venezuela

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director William H. Mcraven bought 5,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,970.24. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on COP shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Capital One Financial lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.96.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $97.44 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $106.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.65. The company has a market capitalization of $120.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 47.52%.

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.