ConocoPhillips $COP Stock Bought by CRA Financial Services LLC

Key Points

• CRA Financial Services increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 128% in the third quarter, ending with 13,163 shares valued at approximately $1.65 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.36% of COP.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with ConocoPhillips receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $143.62, despite several target-price reductions.
• ConocoPhillips exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.24 in earnings per share and $19.52 billion in revenue. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.84, equal to a 2.3% annualized yield.

CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 128.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,163 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 7,390 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. State Street Corp increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $12,328,767,000 after acquiring an additional 50,116,727 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $9,760,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712,703 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,566,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,759 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,044,489 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,457,978,000 after acquiring an additional 74,261 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,181,950 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,344,017,000 after purchasing an additional 995,392 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Weiss Ratings raised ConocoPhillips from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Roth Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $124.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.62.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $146.43 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.57 and a 12 month high of $146.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.24. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $132.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips NYSE: COP is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Unlike integrated energy companies, it primarily focuses on upstream activities rather than operating large refining or retail fuel businesses.

The company's portfolio includes conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas assets, liquefied natural gas-related interests, oil sands operations and other energy resources.

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