Councilmark Asset Management LLC Has $1.95 Million Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Councilmark Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,639 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips comprises approximately 1.3% of Councilmark Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Councilmark Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COP. State Street Corp lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587,729 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $482,996,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 401.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $438,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,541,504 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $100.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $127.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.56. 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 fifty-two week low of $86.81 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arjun N. Murti bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,061,205. This represents a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.