Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $932,000 Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,396 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COP. State Street Corp boosted 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 worth $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the third 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. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,469,163,000 after buying an additional 1,506,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during 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 buying an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $97.90 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.43. The stock has a market cap of $124.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. 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 presently 40.05%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R A. Walker bought 10,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.