BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) Position Reduced by Valeo Financial Advisors LLC

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 27.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,245 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 15,007 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in BP were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BP. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in BP by 9.9% in the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 233,776 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $7,338,000 after purchasing an additional 20,976 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,360 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 24,252 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in BP by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 660,538 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $19,526,000 after acquiring an additional 14,436 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in BP in the third quarter valued at $857,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its holdings in shares of BP by 5.4% during the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 454,980 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $14,282,000 after purchasing an additional 23,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company's stock.

BP Price Performance

NYSE:BP traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.56. 8,447,611 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,357,999. BP p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $27.82 and a 1 year high of $40.40. The company has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 431.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $31.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.34.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. Sell-side analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,375.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of BP in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James upped their price target on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BP presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.64.

BP Company Profile

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.