Martingale Asset Management L P Buys 159,749 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 569.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,801 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,749 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $19,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Second Line Capital LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,990 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 7,091 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,503 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,177 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.2%

COP opened at $94.8410 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.67. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $79.88 and a fifty-two week high of $116.08. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.33.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.88%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.95.

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.