MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 8,197 ConocoPhillips $COP

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 8,197 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,000. ConocoPhillips comprises 0.7% of MQS Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $11,256,713,000 after purchasing an additional 408,304 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after buying an additional 2,350,645 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,407,770,000 after buying an additional 648,432 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,389,862,000 after buying an additional 193,401 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 target price on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.76.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $103.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.57 and a 12 month high of $135.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.70 and its 200-day moving average is $112.07.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.