Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 98.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,151 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 2,127,933 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in BP were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in BP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in BP by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,841 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in BP by 26.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 7,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank lifted its stake in 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 worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.01% of the company's stock.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock opened at $29.38 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $30.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 367.30, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. BP p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $25.22 and a 12 month high of $37.60. 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 announced 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). The firm had revenue of $46.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.12 billion. BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. BP's dividend payout ratio is currently -413.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BP shares. UBS Group downgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of BP from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $26.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, May 12th. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $36.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of BP in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.