Nicholas Investment Partners LP Purchases New Shares in ConocoPhillips $COP

Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 62,500 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,498,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $9,760,436,000 after buying an additional 2,712,703 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,880,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,645 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,407,770,000 after purchasing an additional 648,432 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,389,862,000 after buying an additional 193,401 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $133.37 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $160.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $115.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.97.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Capital One Financial decreased their price target on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $143.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.29.

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.