Prudential PLC Purchases 196,230 Shares of Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Key Points

• Prudential PLC nearly doubled its Baker Hughes stake in the fourth quarter, buying 196,230 additional shares to bring its total holding to 399,665 shares worth about $18.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 92.06% of Baker Hughes stock held by institutional investors, while insiders sold 282,745 shares over the last quarter.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still positive overall: Baker Hughes has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $69.14, even as some firms cut targets or downgraded the stock.

Prudential PLC grew its position in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 96.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 399,665 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 196,230 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $18,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKR. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,884 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 5,722 shares of the company's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 42,679 shares of the company's stock worth $1,944,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 7,341 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,619 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Baker Hughes from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Baker Hughes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research lowered Baker Hughes from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Capital One Financial upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the company'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 value of $16,025,801.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 866,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,938,242.76. This represents a 23.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 5,063 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.04, for a total value of $298,919.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,555 shares in the company, valued at $918,367.20. The trade was a 24.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 282,745 shares of company stock valued at $16,651,472. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKR opened at $66.11 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $63.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.31. The company has a market cap of $65.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Baker Hughes Company has a twelve month low of $37.08 and a twelve month high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.39%.

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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