Midwest Trust Co Invests $36.95 Million in ConocoPhillips $COP

Midwest Trust Co acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 411,784 shares of the energy producer’s stock, valued at approximately $36,953,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $83,969,000 after purchasing an additional 264,726 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 17.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 154,360 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $13,927,000 after buying an additional 22,827 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,395,546 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $304,716,000 after acquiring an additional 78,642 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth approximately $1,264,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 37,361 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE COP opened at $86.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.58. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $115.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.00.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Melius assumed coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $117.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised ConocoPhillips from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $129.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.54.

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.