Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,096,450 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 153,944 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $747,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 69.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 254 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 95.6% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 313 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $126.00 price target (down from $139.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.63.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $111.71 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.48. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $101.29 and a 52 week high of $135.18. The stock has a market cap of $128.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy producer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 17.29%. The company had revenue of $13.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.10%.

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.