Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Acquired by MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 126.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,266 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,123 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Shell were worth $1,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $360,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Shell by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 15,988 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Shell by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,351 shares of the energy company's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Shell by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 394,592 shares of the energy company's stock worth $24,721,000 after buying an additional 148,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transform Wealth LLC boosted its position in Shell by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the energy company's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:SHEL traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.26. 3,064,455 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,305,328. The stock has a market cap of $199.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38. Shell plc has a fifty-two week low of $58.55 and a fifty-two week high of $74.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $66.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $69.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.18 billion. Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Shell's payout ratio is 65.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Shell to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shell has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.35.

Shell Company 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.