Clear Rock Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Clear Rock Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,274 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 627 shares during the quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,097,473,000 after acquiring an additional 8,479,963 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,705,059,000 after buying an additional 1,856,085 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,132,430,000 after buying an additional 438,241 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,412,753 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $860,398,000 after acquiring an additional 191,519 shares during the period. Finally, Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 6,079,041 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $705,594,000 after acquiring an additional 211,257 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of COP opened at $109.38 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.13. The company has a market capitalization of $127.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COP. StockNews.com cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.82.

ConocoPhillips 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.