Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 438,241 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,900,596 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 438,241 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,132,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,438 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 55,662 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $6,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,035 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 783,637 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $90,957,000 after purchasing an additional 25,313 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,068 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 31,848 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,697,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 3.3 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $102.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $118.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.38. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $101.29 and a 52-week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.14 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 26.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COP shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $159.00 target price (up previously from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

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.