Primecap Management Co. CA Purchases 282,990 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,603,895 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 282,990 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $456,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 876.9% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 343 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $99.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $86.81 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.