Capital Market Strategies LLC Acquires New Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Capital Market Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,955 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,081,491,000 after acquiring an additional 12,751,120 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,546,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,544,101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,211,939 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,792,521,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,757,835 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,364,364,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971,661 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE COP opened at $85.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $118.40. The company has a market capitalization of $108.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.89.

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.