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

Auxier Asset Management cut its holdings in shares of 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 & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BP. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BP by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,360 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,577,000 after buying an additional 24,252 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of BP by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 22,147 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 4,321 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased 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 purchasing an additional 7,565 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in shares of BP by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 465,242 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $13,753,000 after purchasing an additional 10,262 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of BP stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,740,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,792,700. BP p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $25.22 and a 12 month high of $37.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.53 and a 200 day moving average of $30.57. The company has a market capitalization of $78.62 billion, a PE ratio of 362.05, 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 current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.03). The firm 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. BP's payout ratio is presently -413.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $36.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of BP in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded BP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on BP from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.28.

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.