Martingale Asset Management L P Acquires 159,749 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P significantly increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 569.5%, acquiring 159,749 shares to hold a total of 187,801 shares valued at approximately $19.7 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported earnings of $1.42 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 4.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of approximately 41.88%.

Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 569.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,801 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 159,749 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $19,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 379.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,094,754 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,210,751,000 after purchasing an additional 31,736,423 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at approximately $658,981,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,546,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 27.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,440.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,964,189 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $311,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,936,066 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on COP. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.95.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded up $1.8440 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.6240. 6,338,392 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,789,525. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $116.08. The stock has a market cap of $120.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About ConocoPhillips

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.