Great Lakes Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,047,732 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 55,901 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $99,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 249.5% during the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William H. Mcraven purchased 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,970.24. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $101.47 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $106.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.11. The company has a market cap of $125.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 14.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.96.

ConocoPhillips Profile

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.