Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Has $2.14 Million Holdings in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. decreased its position in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,545 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 11,261 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in BP were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,089,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in BP by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 474,957 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $14,040,000 after purchasing an additional 110,019 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its stake in BP by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 272,527 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $8,056,000 after purchasing an additional 38,751 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of BP during the third quarter valued at about $857,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BP by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,360 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 24,252 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BP shares. DZ Bank downgraded BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James increased their target price on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.26.

BP Stock Performance

BP stock opened at $33.76 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.44 and a 200-day moving average of $31.22. The firm has a market cap of $90.37 billion, a PE ratio of 422.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.58. BP p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $27.82 and a 12-month high of $40.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 0.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.69%. BP’s payout ratio is currently 2,375.00%.

About BP

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.