ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 8.4%, acquiring 199,054 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 2,579,023 shares valued at $270.8 million.
• ConocoPhillips has received several positive analyst ratings, with UBS raising its target price to $115 and a consensus target price of $120.84 among analysts.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, which will be paid on September 2nd, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.3%.

National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,579,023 shares of the energy producer's stock after buying an additional 199,054 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.20% of ConocoPhillips worth $270,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 379.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,094,754 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,210,751,000 after buying an additional 31,736,423 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,101,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,027 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,757,835 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,364,364,000 after purchasing an additional 2,971,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,021,394 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,191,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078,707 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on COP shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.84.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,561,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,870,423. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.67. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $116.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $93.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.46.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

ConocoPhillips 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.