Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $4.73 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,647 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,096 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 31,011 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 59.8% in the fourth 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 raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,855 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,489,514 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $262,094,000 after buying an additional 46,621 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,474,270 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $155,211,000 after buying an additional 32,948 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COP. Raymond James lowered ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.05.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $102.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $130.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $86.81 and a 52-week high of $135.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.31.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 17.26%. On average, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 40.05%.

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.