Great Lakes Advisors LLC Makes New $115.37 Million Investment in ConocoPhillips $COP

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,109,766 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $115,372,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of ConocoPhillips as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 151.0% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Capital One Financial cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.48.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.8%

COP opened at $129.82 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.12. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $135.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $155.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.