Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Stake in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,735,294 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 54,843 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.06% of BP worth $61,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connolly Sarah T. acquired a new position in shares of BP during the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of BP by 5.1% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,083 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BP during the third quarter worth approximately $200,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of BP by 5.1% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 23,581 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new stake in BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,122,000. 11.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP stock traded up $0.01 on Monday, hitting $39.48. 12,229,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,534,936. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.18 billion, a PE ratio of 7.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.68. BP p.l.c. has a one year low of $33.52 and a one year high of $40.84. The firm's 50 day moving average is $37.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.52.

BP (NYSE:BP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $52.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.14 billion. BP had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 7.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 24.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 5.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.4362 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. BP's payout ratio is 33.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on BP from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank increased their price target on BP from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Securities increased their price target on BP from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded BP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $38.60 to $42.30 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.72.

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.