Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $1.26 Million Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 59.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,076 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,240 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $83,969,000 after acquiring an additional 264,726 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 17.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 154,360 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 22,827 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.4% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,395,546 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $304,716,000 after purchasing an additional 78,642 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 17.7% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 37,361 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 316.6% during the first quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 10,769 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 8,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $86.86 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.99. The company has a market cap of $108.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $115.38.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 target price on the stock. Melius started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.63.

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.