Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Decreases Holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lessened its stake in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,241 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 11,846 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in BP were worth $2,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of BP in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in BP by 404.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of BP by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of BP by 58.7% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in BP by 1,867.9% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 7,970 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 7,565 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

BP Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE BP opened at $33.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $88.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 415.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. BP p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $27.82 and a 12-month high of $40.40.

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

BP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.78%. BP’s payout ratio is currently 2,375.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price objective on BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BP has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.76.

BP 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.