BP p.l.c. $BP Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 286,945 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 84,679 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in BP were worth $9,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of BP by 4.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 39,146 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,537 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 4,856 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in BP by 206.0% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 252,849 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $7,568,000 after acquiring an additional 170,221 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in BP by 7.4% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 8,295 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BP opened at $46.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $122.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4,665.83, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.98. BP p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $25.22 and a 12 month high of $46.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.63.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $47.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. BP had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 0.03%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.4992 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently -19,800.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. HSBC upgraded BP from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.10 to $45.30 in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Argus raised BP to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of BP in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Scotiabank set a $41.00 target price on BP in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.18.

BP Profile

BP plc is a British multinational integrated energy company headquartered in London. Originating in the early 20th century as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP has grown into one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, operating across exploration and production, refining and marketing, trading, and a range of low-carbon businesses.

The company’s core activities include upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream and trading operations, and downstream refining, marketing and supply of fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals.