Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 297.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,517 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,602 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 31,742 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,190,000 after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,044,489 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,457,978,000 after buying an additional 74,261 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 29,962 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,955,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart LLC purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the first quarter worth $337,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips agreed to acquire a 42% stake in BP’s Iraq venture, increasing its exposure to the Kirkuk oilfields and more than 3 billion barrels of recoverable resources. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s Iraq agreement is part of a broader wave of U.S. corporate commitments to support Iraqi energy development, which may signal additional international growth potential. Financial Post article
• Positive Sentiment: Energy shares were broadly stronger, helping support ConocoPhillips alongside a sector-wide move higher. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports noted that COP tends to move with crude oil prices, so commodity trends remain an important near-term driver for the stock. Kalkine Media article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.04.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $114.70 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.52. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.05%.

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.