Boston Research & Management Inc. Grows Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Boston Research & Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,824 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 318 shares during the quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,438 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 3,612 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 196.5% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,846 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 6,525 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,715,000. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 8,454 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $981,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $147.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.29.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.4 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $110.08 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $101.29 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $127.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 posted $1.84 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About ConocoPhillips

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.