ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Bought by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors boosted its ConocoPhillips stake by 18.2% in Q3, adding 7,037,873 shares to own 45,645,397 shares (3.69%) worth about $4.32 billion, and institutional investors now hold 82.36% of the company.
• Analyst views are mixed but generally favorable: ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $117.54 average price target, while individual revisions range from UBS raising its target to $144 (buy) to Sanford cutting its target to $98.
• The company recently reported an earnings miss—$1.02 EPS vs. $1.23 expected and $13.86B revenue (down 3.7% y/y)—and pays a $0.84 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.36, ~2.9% yield).

Capital International Investors grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 18.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 7,037,873 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned 3.69% of ConocoPhillips worth $4,318,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,804,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,331,176 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $220,506,000 after buying an additional 298,245 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,996,426 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $188,842,000 after buying an additional 160,410 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 140,829 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $13,321,000 after acquiring an additional 15,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.2% during the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 389,995 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $36,890,000 after acquiring an additional 11,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Johnson Rice lowered ConocoPhillips from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.54.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $117.09 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $122.50. The stock has a market cap of $144.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.27. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total transaction of $4,751,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 411,211 shares in the company, valued at $48,847,754.69. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About ConocoPhillips

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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