BP p.l.c. $BP Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 740,450 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 261,697 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in BP were worth $22,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BP by 6.0% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 8,022 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in BP by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 37,941 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,136,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in BP by 3.1% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 20,657 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of BP by 2,250.0% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 940 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BP by 2.7% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 35,694 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:BP opened at $36.06 on Friday. BP p.l.c. has a one year low of $25.22 and a one year high of $37.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $94.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 171.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.12.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $48.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.76 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4992 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from BP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. BP’s payout ratio is 339.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BP shares. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of BP in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Santander upgraded shares of BP to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on BP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of BP in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target on BP from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.14.

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.