Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 89.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,174 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 25,097 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $5,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,826,062 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,081,491,000 after purchasing an additional 12,751,120 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,546,706,000 after buying an additional 5,549,078 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,287,113 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,101,989,000 after buying an additional 1,473,027 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,131,288 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,792,521,000 after buying an additional 3,397,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,570,246 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,544,101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,211,939 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $114.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.63.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.4%

COP opened at $87.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.99. The firm has a market cap of $111.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.64. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $118.40. 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 (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $16.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.74 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.64%.

ConocoPhillips 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.