Great Lakes Advisors LLC Grows Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,081,207 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 43,882 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises about 1.0% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $112,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 83.0% in the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 8,189 shares in the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 159.6% in the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 49.3% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $83,969,000 after purchasing an additional 264,726 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 853.3% in the first quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 151.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $9,580,000 after purchasing an additional 54,900 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.95.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 2.9%

NYSE:COP opened at $92.97 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $79.88 and a 1 year high of $116.08.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.ConocoPhillips’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.88%.

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.