Simon Quick Advisors LLC Raises Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,695 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 401.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $438,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541,504 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $103.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.25. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $94.23 and a 12 month high of $135.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 19.53%. ConocoPhillips’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $120.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $136.00.

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.