Baker Hughes Company $BKR Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Baker Hughes stake by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, while the company remains heavily owned by institutions overall at 92.06%.
• Several insiders sold shares, including CEO Lorenzo Simonelli, who sold 272,594 shares in a transaction worth about $16.0 million; insiders have sold 550,250 shares over the past 90 days.
• Baker Hughes beat earnings estimates for the quarter with EPS of $0.58 versus $0.49 expected, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share. Analysts remain mostly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.18.

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,832 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,779 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Baker Hughes by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,890,075 shares of the company's stock worth $6,035,924,000 after acquiring an additional 598,159 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,546,388 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,316,462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,709 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,903,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,262,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,016 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 17,316,358 shares of the company's stock worth $843,653,000 after purchasing an additional 638,640 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $729,670,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $16,025,801.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 866,444 shares in the company, valued at $50,938,242.76. This trade represents a 23.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 5,063 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.04, for a total value of $298,919.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,555 shares in the company, valued at $918,367.20. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 550,250 shares of company stock worth $32,988,331. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ BKR opened at $65.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $64.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.77 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BKR shares. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Johnson Rice began coverage on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.18.

Baker Hughes 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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