Asset Planning Inc Invests $40,000 in BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)

Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,350 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in BP by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 660,538 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $19,526,000 after purchasing an additional 14,436 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in BP by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 454,980 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $14,282,000 after acquiring an additional 23,325 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in BP by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 440,973 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $13,842,000 after acquiring an additional 5,150 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in BP by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 343,880 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $10,795,000 after acquiring an additional 12,700 shares during the period. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in BP by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 233,776 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $7,338,000 after acquiring an additional 20,976 shares during the period. 11.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BP opened at $35.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.94. BP p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $27.82 and a 1 year high of $40.40.

BP (NYSE:BP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 12.91%. As a group, research analysts predict that BP p.l.c. will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.48%. BP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. DZ Bank cut shares of BP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.64.

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.