HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 846,912 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,257 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $88,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COP. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 91.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,622,000 after buying an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $70,397,000 after acquiring an additional 44,852 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 53.5% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $134.23 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $120.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.67. The stock has a market cap of $161.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.13. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $85.57 and a fifty-two week high of $137.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.