Amundi Acquires 206,814 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Amundi increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 4.2% in the first quarter, purchasing 206,814 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 5.1 million shares valued at approximately $672.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 82.36%, with several major investment firms—including Capital International Investors, AQR Capital Management and Charles Schwab—also increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.16, while ConocoPhillips recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and pays a $0.84 quarterly dividend.

Amundi raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,095,818 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 206,814 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.42% of ConocoPhillips worth $672,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,527,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,663 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 229.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $336,544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503,156 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,645 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 46,105.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,310,281 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $304,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3,775.8% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,893,340 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $249,921,000 after buying an additional 1,844,490 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $143.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.16.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:COP opened at $114.07 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.57 and a 12 month high of $135.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $138.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.12.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm's revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 57.05%.

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.

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