Auxier Asset Management Sells 11,366 Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Auxier Asset Management reduced its position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 181,428 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 11,366 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management's holdings in BP were worth $5,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BP. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of BP during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in BP by 26.9% during the 4th 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 boosted its position in shares of BP by 1,867.9% during 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, United Community Bank raised its stake in shares of BP by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 9,232 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $29.00 price target on BP and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on BP from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $36.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of BP in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.28.

BP Stock Up 0.3%

BP traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.18. 6,737,836 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,804,900. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business's 50 day moving average is $29.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.58. BP p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $25.22 and a fifty-two week high of $37.58. The stock has a market cap of $79.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 364.80, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $46.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.12 billion. BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. BP's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. BP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -413.04%.

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.