Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $158.74 Million Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,526,837 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 177,578 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $158,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $11,256,713,000 after purchasing an additional 408,304 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,407,770,000 after buying an additional 648,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,389,862,000 after buying an additional 193,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $127.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $153.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.05 and its 200-day moving average is $116.92.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Mizuho lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Capital One Financial dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.48.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.