Man Group plc Grows Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 297.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 500,047 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 374,323 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $49,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:COP traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.34. The company had a trading volume of 6,693,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,325,888. The stock has a market cap of $116.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $122.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 39.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.74.

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.