ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Acquired by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 151.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,380 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 3,240 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $12,081,491,000 after acquiring an additional 12,751,120 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,546,706,000 after buying an additional 5,549,078 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,544,101,000 after buying an additional 4,211,939 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $2,792,521,000 after buying an additional 3,397,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,757,835 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,364,364,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971,661 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on COP shares. Scotiabank set a $100.00 price target on ConocoPhillips and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.15.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $94.22. The stock had a trading volume of 5,504,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,469,525. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $90.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.27. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $118.40.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 16.02%. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.