Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 13,111 Shares of Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Shell PLC by 3.6%, owning 381,127 shares worth approximately $27.93 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Shell recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.716 per share with an annualized yield of 4.0% and also approved a $3.5 billion stock buyback program.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments towards Shell, with an average price target of $78.64 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on evaluations from multiple investment firms.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,127 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,111 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Shell were worth $27,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Shell by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,545 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Shell by 136.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,824 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 4,512 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Shell by 4.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,323 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Shell by 2.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 908,572 shares of the energy company's stock worth $66,580,000 after acquiring an additional 23,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Shell by 100.9% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,534 shares of the energy company's stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 5,794 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SHEL shares. HSBC restated a "hold" rating and set a $78.30 price objective (down from $78.90) on shares of Shell in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Santander downgraded Shell to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Shell from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Shell from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.64.

Shell Stock Up 0.4%

Shell stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,839,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,254,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.32. Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR has a fifty-two week low of $58.54 and a fifty-two week high of $74.18. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $71.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.29. Shell had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 4.93%. The firm had revenue of $66.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $69.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.41%.

Shell announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Shell Profile

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.