Brown Advisory Inc. Raises Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 123,278 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 6,390 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $11,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth $658,981,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 66.0% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $707,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135,315 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 190.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,664,408 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $484,539,000 after acquiring an additional 3,058,505 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,933,286 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $263,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,740,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6,156.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,508,169 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $135,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:COP opened at $93.73 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $106.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.54 and a 200 day moving average of $91.83. The firm has a market cap of $115.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William H. Mcraven bought 5,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,970.24. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.