ConocoPhillips $COP Stock: TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Increases Stake

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1,389.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 850,987 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 793,856 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $106,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 263.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 118,655 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $14,850,000 after purchasing an additional 86,019 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at $6,896,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $870,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,645,000. Finally, Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,475,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE COP traded up $4.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $146.43. The stock had a trading volume of 7,765,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,598,777. The stock has a market cap of $175.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.24. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $85.57 and a one year high of $146.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $132.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.54.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on COP. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $151.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $148.00 target price on the stock. Argus increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research raised ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and liquefied natural gas. Unlike integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips focuses primarily on upstream activities rather than refining and retail fuel operations.

The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in major producing regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Qatar. Its U.S. operations include oil and gas developments in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, while its international portfolio includes conventional and offshore projects.