Boston Research & Management Inc. Buys 6,034 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Boston Research & Management Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 18.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,552 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 49.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 97.2% in the second quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,861 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 3,381 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 17.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 154,360 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $13,927,000 after acquiring an additional 22,827 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,395,546 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $304,716,000 after acquiring an additional 78,642 shares during the period. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 138.7% during the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 10,413 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Melius began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $117.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Capital One Financial upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Roth Capital cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.16.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $87.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $107.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $90.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.90. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $79.88 and a 1 year high of $112.73.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The business had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William H. Mcraven acquired 5,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,970.24. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.