California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,555,952 shares of the energy producer's stock after acquiring an additional 106,037 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of ConocoPhillips worth $154,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $12,081,491,000 after buying an additional 12,751,120 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,546,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,544,101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211,939 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $438,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,792,521,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397,360 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.8 %

COP stock traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $90.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,027,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,175,847. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $125.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 40.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.79.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.