Carnegie Investment Counsel Boosts Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,007 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.33.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.7%

COP opened at $94.96 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $116.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The company had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.