Boston Research & Management Inc. Increases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Boston Research & Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,824 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,468,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 26,083 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,021,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,601 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after buying an additional 4,578 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Argus raised shares of ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $110.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $127.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year high of $135.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $109.76 and a 200 day moving average of $116.53.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released 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. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

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.