Prudential PLC Sells 40,197 Shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Prudential PLC lowered its holdings in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,197 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $15,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth $8,456,000. Bornite Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth about $20,510,000. Pitcairn Co. increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 15,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 415,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,047,000 after purchasing an additional 188,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,482,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,730.54. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of BKR stock opened at $40.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.60 and a 200-day moving average of $41.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Baker Hughes has a one year low of $30.93 and a one year high of $49.40.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 30.87%.

Baker Hughes Profile

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.