Bollard Group LLC Raises Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Bollard Group LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 7,020 shares during the period. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $19,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,527,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,663 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 229.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $336,544,000 after buying an additional 2,503,156 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after buying an additional 2,350,645 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 46,105.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,310,281 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $304,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,305,281 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $135,265,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $120.30 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $113.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.23. The company has a market capitalization of $146.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.12. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 57.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.16.

About ConocoPhillips

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.