ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Purchased by Alaethes Wealth LLC

Alaethes Wealth LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,097,473,000 after acquiring an additional 8,479,963 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 512.8% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $433,757,000 after buying an additional 3,127,165 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 9.6% in 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 period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 46.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $409,833,000 after buying an additional 1,015,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,986,970 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,907,542,000 after acquiring an additional 826,529 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $147.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus raised shares of ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,288,321.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $110.08 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $101.29 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.76 and its 200-day simple moving average 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 company has a market cap of $127.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

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

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.