Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 18,014 Shares of Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL)

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its holdings in Shell PLC by 40.3%, owning 26,644 shares valued at $1.95 million, following a sale of 18,014 shares.
• Shell recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.716 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 64.41%.
• Analyst ratings for Shell show a consensus of "Moderate Buy"** with an average price target of $78.64, indicating mixed investor sentiment.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 40.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,644 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 18,014 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Shell were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHEL. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Shell by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,592,218 shares of the energy company's stock worth $263,238,000 after buying an additional 15,043 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Shell by 170.3% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 3,463,372 shares of the energy company's stock worth $216,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Shell by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,101,330 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $194,298,000 after acquiring an additional 519,105 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Shell by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP now owns 2,300,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $144,095,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Shell by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 2,262,997 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $141,777,000 after purchasing an additional 718,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company's stock.

Shell Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of SHEL stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,853,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,736,577. The company has a market cap of $214.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR has a one year low of $58.54 and a one year high of $74.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.29. Shell had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company had revenue of $66.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.31 billion. Analysts anticipate that Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Shell Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Shell's payout ratio is 64.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SHEL. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Shell from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Shell from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Santander lowered shares of Shell to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $78.30 price target (down previously from $78.90) on shares of Shell in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Shell currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.64.

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.