Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,549,078 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up approximately 0.5% of Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,546,706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of COP stock opened at $89.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $79.88 and a 1 year high of $130.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.03.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.68.

ConocoPhillips 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.