ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Bought by Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,928,793 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,046,263,000 after purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,280,725,000 after purchasing an additional 5,240,016 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,733,928 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,601,639,000 after acquiring an additional 924,289 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,557,351 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,469,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,599 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,311,369,000 after buying an additional 4,656,040 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arjun N. Murti purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $95.87 per share, for a total transaction of $239,675.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,061,205. The trade was a 13.16 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director R A. Walker purchased 10,400 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $97.80 per share, with a total value of $1,017,120.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 38,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,716,400. This trade represents a 37.68 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.72.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $101.72 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.03. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $94.23 and a 1 year high of $135.18. The stock has a market cap of $117.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 16.23%. On average, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 40.05%.

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.