ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Position Lifted by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,760,605 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 183,562 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips comprises approximately 1.7% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $174,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cypress Capital Group raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 18,790 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,978,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,342 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 3,132 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,255 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.0% during the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,716,400. This represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, with a total value of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $92.60 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $86.81 and a twelve month high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.44 and a 200-day moving average of $104.18. The firm has a market cap of $117.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.05%.

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.