Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 214,548 Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 32.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 445,990 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 214,548 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in BP were worth $15,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BP. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in BP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of BP during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in BP by 580.8% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in BP by 24.9% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,648 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Price Performance

BP opened at $29.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 366.05, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.58. BP p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $25.22 and a 12-month high of $37.39.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.53 EPS 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 net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm's revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. BP's payout ratio is -413.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BP shares. 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 lowered BP from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BP from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.

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