ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Acquired by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• CalSTRS dramatically increased its ConocoPhillips position by purchasing 146.4 million additional shares in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 147.9 million shares, or approximately 12.31% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.36% of COP.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.29. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Wells Fargo to $189 and Susquehanna to $161.
• ConocoPhillips reported quarterly EPS of $3.24, exceeding estimates by $0.34, while revenue rose 32.4% year over year to $19.52 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 10,228.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,873,744 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 146,441,998 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 12.31% of ConocoPhillips worth $15,372,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 91.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $7,622,000 after purchasing an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $70,397,000 after purchasing an additional 44,852 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 53.5% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Argus increased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $124.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.29.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $134.23 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.67. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $137.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $161.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.13.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. ConocoPhillips's revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips 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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