Senator Investment Group LP Has $55.96 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Senator Investment Group LP boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 145.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 538,290 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 319,328 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for about 2.0% of Senator Investment Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Senator Investment Group LP’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $55,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantitative Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at about $4,633,000. Moore Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,941,000. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 17,583 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 35,635 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,705,000 after buying an additional 3,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 16,053 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “underperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Argus increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $130.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.63. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $85.57 and a twelve month high of $135.88.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 44.44%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About ConocoPhillips

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.