ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,835 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,601,639,000 after purchasing an additional 924,289 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.47.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, for a total transaction of $1,017,120.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,716,400. The trade was a 37.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 4.0 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $97.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.44. The company has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $94.23 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

About ConocoPhillips

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.