ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Purchased by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Braun Stacey Associates increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 10.6% in the first quarter, buying 18,203 additional shares and bringing its holding to 190,268 shares worth about $25.1 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 82.36% of ConocoPhillips shares. This suggests continued strong institutional interest in the stock.
• ConocoPhillips reported quarterly EPS of $1.89, beating estimates, while revenue also topped expectations; the company also paid a $0.84 quarterly dividend for a 3.2% yield. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $134.04.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,268 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,203 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $25,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,318,239,000 after buying an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 229.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $336,544,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503,156 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,228,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth $135,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial set a $128.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Capital One Financial decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.04.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $105.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $117.29 and its 200-day moving average is $111.81. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.