Captrust Financial Advisors Cuts Stake in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Captrust Financial Advisors decreased its position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 66.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,570 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 291,403 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in BP were worth $4,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BP. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of BP during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in BP by 55.2% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its position in BP by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 7,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BP by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 8,073 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Price Performance

NYSE:BP traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $30.19. 11,713,091 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,747,115. BP p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $25.22 and a 1 year high of $38.16. The company has a market cap of $81.97 billion, a PE ratio of 377.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. 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 $30.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.59.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.03). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The company had revenue of $46.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -413.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $36.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group downgraded BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on BP from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of BP from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.06.

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.