Madison Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in ConocoPhillips $COP

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 153,276 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $15,935,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 91.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,622,000 after acquiring an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $70,397,000 after purchasing an additional 44,852 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 53.5% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP opened at $130.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $157.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.32.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Argus increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.21.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.