Rep. Bruce Westerman Purchases Shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) recently bought shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP). In a filing disclosed on April 16th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in BP stock on March 3rd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FISHER IRA” account.

Representative Bruce Westerman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton, Société Européenne (OTCMKTS:LVMUY) on 4/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Sony Group (NYSE:SONY) on 3/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG) on 3/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BP (NYSE:BP) on 3/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) on 3/20/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 3/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 3/20/2025.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of BP traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.30. The stock had a trading volume of 8,918,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,547,031. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.25. BP p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $25.22 and a fifty-two week high of $39.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 353.78, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.41.

BP (NYSE:BP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share (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, research analysts anticipate that BP p.l.c. will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

BP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.78%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2,375.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in BP by 30.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 110,019 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in BP in the fourth quarter worth about $588,000. ARK & TLK Investments LLC acquired a new position in BP during the 4th quarter valued at about $434,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of BP by 83.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of BP by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 272,527 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $8,056,000 after acquiring an additional 38,751 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BP shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of BP from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on BP from $34.70 to $31.80 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of BP from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.73.

About Representative Westerman

Bruce Westerman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2015. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Westerman (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Westerman earned his BSBAGE in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1990 and his MF in forestry from Yale University in 2001. His professional experience includes working as a plant engineer for Riceland Foods and an engineer/forester for Mid-South Engineering Company.

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.