ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Acquired by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 176,759 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 12,552 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $17,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 7,174 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $155,211,000 after purchasing an additional 32,948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $111.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $116.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.79.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:COP traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.71. 8,027,447 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,175,847. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $94.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.26. The firm has a market cap of $114.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $125.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

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.