Baker Hughes Company $BKR Shares Sold by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd sharply reduced its Baker Hughes stake by 86.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 425,322 shares and leaving it with 64,721 shares worth about $2.95 million.
• Baker Hughes saw notable insider selling, including CEO Lorenzo Simonelli selling 272,594 shares; insiders have sold 550,250 shares over the last three months.
• The company beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting EPS of $0.58 versus estimates of $0.49, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $69.18.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its holdings in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 86.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,721 shares of the company's stock after selling 425,322 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the third quarter worth about $729,670,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,546,388 shares of the company's stock worth $2,316,462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,709 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $119,078,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 25.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,325,417 shares of the company's stock worth $454,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,903,241 shares of the company's stock worth $1,262,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,016 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In related news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 5,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.04, for a total transaction of $298,919.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $918,367.20. This trade represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $16,025,801.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 866,444 shares in the company, valued at $50,938,242.76. This represents a 23.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 550,250 shares of company stock worth $32,988,331. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. iA Financial set a $60.00 target price on Baker Hughes in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.18.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKR opened at $64.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Baker Hughes Company has a 52-week low of $35.83 and a 52-week high of $70.41. The business's 50-day moving average price is $62.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.54. The firm has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.39%.

Baker Hughes Company Profile

Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides a broad portfolio of products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas and industrial markets. Its offerings span oilfield services and equipment — including drilling, evaluation, completion and production technologies — as well as turbomachinery, compressors and related process equipment used in midstream and downstream operations. The company also supplies aftermarket services, field support and integrated solutions designed to improve asset performance and uptime across the energy value chain.

The firm's roots trace back to the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company, and more recently it combined with GE's oil and gas business in 2017 to form Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE); subsequent changes in ownership restored Baker Hughes as an independent publicly traded company.

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