Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Purchases 14,151 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,539 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 14,151 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 19.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 10,663,093 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,161,897 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,280,725,000 after buying an additional 5,240,016 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 12,456,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,311,369,000 after acquiring an additional 4,656,040 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5,422.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,423,611 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $438,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,541,504 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $96.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $94.23 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. TD Cowen assumed coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.47.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

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

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.