BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Takes $2.32 Million Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 23,400 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 42.7% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $10,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,901,000 after buying an additional 7,174 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $155,211,000 after buying an additional 32,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 186,535 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $18,499,000 after acquiring an additional 22,378 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of COP opened at $86.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $109.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced 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%. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COP. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.79.

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.