Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Buys 15,926 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 206,194 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,926 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $21,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COP. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $9,760,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712,703 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in 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 holdings 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 worth $3,880,151,000 after buying an additional 2,350,645 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,566,901,000 after buying an additional 1,609,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,407,770,000 after buying an additional 648,432 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.7%

COP opened at $130.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $117.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.56. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $85.57 and a twelve month high of $135.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $143.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.