Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Baker Hughes Company by 76.6%, selling 34,287 shares and now owning 10,466 shares valued at approximately $460,000.
• CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold over 526,000 shares for approximately $23.39 million, reducing his ownership by 44.10% in the company.
• Baker Hughes' stock received multiple price target increases from analysts, with Barclays setting a new target at $53.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its position in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 76.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,466 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,287 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $460,000 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. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 13,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 31,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 4,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Baker Hughes by 76.2% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 740 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 526,568 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total transaction of $23,390,150.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 667,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,654,481.06. The trade was a 44.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.47.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $43.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.94. Baker Hughes Company has a 1-year low of $32.25 and a 1-year high of $49.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $40.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.08. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 11.04%. The firm had revenue of $6.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Baker Hughes's payout ratio is 30.07%.

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.

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