Optas LLC Takes Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Optas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,610 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $979,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,555 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,228,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,010 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $135,265,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 505.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 589,980 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $55,228,000 after purchasing an additional 735,319 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $317,630.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,747.84. The trade was a 31.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,689.92. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COP shares. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.36.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $120.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $146.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.31 and a 200-day moving average of $102.83. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $84.28 and a 52-week high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

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.