Hills Bank & Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,687 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 717 shares during the quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $35,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director R A. Walker acquired 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 3.0 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $99.10 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $86.81 and a one year high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.05.

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.