QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 427,689 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 224,661 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $44,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Evergreen Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.24.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded up $2.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $128.00. 5,059,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,272,957. The company has a market capitalization of $153.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.13. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $85.57 and a 52-week high of $141.62.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The business 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.54 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged primarily in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company sells its production to refiners, utilities, industrial customers and other energy market participants.

Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional assets, with operations and development activities in the United States, including Alaska and the Lower 48, as well as Canada, Australia, Norway, Qatar and other international locations.