Quantessence Capital LLC Makes New $3.62 Million Investment in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 36,522 shares of the energy producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,622,000. ConocoPhillips comprises approximately 1.5% of Quantessence Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COP. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 42.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 103,553 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $10,902,000 after purchasing an additional 31,011 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,166 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 7,174 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $155,211,000 after acquiring an additional 32,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 186,535 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $18,499,000 after purchasing an additional 22,378 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lowered 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.89.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $91.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,736,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,140,068. The firm has a market cap of $116.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $94.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.80. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $130.77. 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 (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.05%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.