Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Makes New Investment in ConocoPhillips $COP

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,717 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $11,256,713,000 after purchasing an additional 408,304 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,527,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,663 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,645 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,407,770,000 after purchasing an additional 648,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,389,862,000 after purchasing an additional 193,401 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips is pursuing a major growth opportunity in Alaska’s North Slope, where the $9 billion Willow project could eventually add about $4 billion in annual incremental cash flow and help the company double free cash flow by 2029. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that ConocoPhillips may sign a deal with Syria’s new government to revive gas production could open a new international growth avenue, though the project is still early and details are limited. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $128.00 target price on ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $112.14 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $120.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.80. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $85.57 and a twelve month high of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $136.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 57.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,488.70. This represents a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total value of $64,495,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,822.10. This trade represents a 98.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 634,715 shares of company stock worth $81,410,816. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.