Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $15.52 Million Position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 429,773 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after buying an additional 13,984 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in BP were worth $15,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in BP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in BP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in BP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BP by 576.0% during the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BP Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BP stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,090,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,329,441. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.65. BP p.l.c. has a 1-year low of $32.51 and a 1-year high of $40.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.40.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $47.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.82 billion. BP had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 3.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from BP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. BP's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded BP to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of BP in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of BP to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of BP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised BP to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.23.

About BP

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.