National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 217,633 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 52.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 635,585 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 217,633 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.05% of ConocoPhillips worth $72,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 35.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,192,580 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,097,473,000 after purchasing an additional 8,479,963 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 512.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 3,737,026 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $433,757,000 after buying an additional 3,127,165 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 9.6% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,252,822 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,705,059,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856,085 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 3,931.3% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,455,878 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $185,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,219,929 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $409,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $107.45 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $102.27 and a 12-month high of $135.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $111.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.98. The company has a market capitalization of $124.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $14.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.24.

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.