NEOS Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 199,993 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,698 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $20,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,501,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.8% during the second quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 18,709 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 49.9% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,201 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 92.6% in the second quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,979,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was 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 $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Susquehanna increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $134.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $161.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.13. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $137.42.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

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.