Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 6,638 Shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Baker Hughes by 12.5% during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 46,658 shares valued at approximately $2.05 million.
• Baker Hughes reported a quarterly EPS of $0.63, exceeding estimates, but showed a 3.2% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, with a yield of 2.1%, set to be paid on August 15th.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,658 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,638 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $2,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its position in Baker Hughes by 2.7% during the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 10,533 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Baker Hughes by 2.2% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 13,852 shares of the company's stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in Baker Hughes by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 31,075 shares of the company's stock worth $1,275,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Baker Hughes by 7.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 4,219 shares of the company's stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Baker Hughes by 76.2% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 740 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 526,568 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.42, for a total value of $23,390,150.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 667,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,654,481.06. This represents a 44.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKR. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $46.00 price target (up previously from $43.00) on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 target price on Baker Hughes in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.47.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

NASDAQ BKR traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $42.40. 2,287,890 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,947,000. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.57 and a 200-day moving average of $40.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Baker Hughes Company has a 52 week low of $32.25 and a 52 week high of $49.40. The stock has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.94.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.07%.

About Baker Hughes

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.