Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 4,850 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 157.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,929 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AGP Franklin LLC acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $2,179,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 78.2% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 28,770 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 12,623 shares in the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at about $772,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,852,000. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on COP. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $116.00 target price on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $133.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 target price on ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $131.00 to $116.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.68.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.3 %

COP stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.01. 2,506,180 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,105,695. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $94.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.03. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $130.77. The company has a market cap of $113.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 40.05%.

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.