Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 1,261,881 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,358,331 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,261,881 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $828,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carlton Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Carlton Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,054 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 386,328 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $38,312,000 after purchasing an additional 32,037 shares in the last quarter. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan now owns 30,100 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 3,542 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 118,287 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $11,730,000 after purchasing an additional 43,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 6.7 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $92.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $91.56 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $117.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $100.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.90.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is presently 40.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COP. Raymond James downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $128.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

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

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.