QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 224,661 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 110.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 427,689 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 224,661 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $44,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,896,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,645,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,498,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3,112.4% in the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 17,604 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 17,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,475,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock traded up $2.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.00. 5,059,753 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,272,957. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.32. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $141.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Roth Capital upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $124.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged primarily in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company sells its production to refiners, utilities, industrial customers and other energy market participants.

Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional assets, with operations and development activities in the United States, including Alaska and the Lower 48, as well as Canada, Australia, Norway, Qatar and other international locations.