Alberta Investment Management Corp Invests $3.23 Million in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp has made a new investment of $3.23 million in ConocoPhillips, acquiring 30,750 shares during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus target price of $121.33 for ConocoPhillips, with the stock currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by multiple analysts.
• ConocoPhillips recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.4%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,750 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,990 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 7,091 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,177 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 4,361 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $92.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $117.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $91.97 and its 200-day moving average is $94.07. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $116.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.74 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 16.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

ConocoPhillips 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.

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