Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Acquires 8,405 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 118.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,489 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,405 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Shell were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SHEL. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. increased its position in Shell by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 9,518 shares of the energy company's stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in Shell by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the energy company's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Shell by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 5,526 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Shell by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Shell by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SHEL opened at $65.89 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $67.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Shell plc has a twelve month low of $58.55 and a twelve month high of $74.61. The stock has a market cap of $198.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.716 dividend. This is an increase from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. Shell's payout ratio is presently 56.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SHEL shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.73.

About Shell

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market.

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