Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Baker Hughes stake by 4.0% in the first quarter, selling 106,244 shares and ending with 2.58 million shares valued at about $157.4 million.
• Baker Hughes has secured several growth-oriented catalysts, including major LNG equipment and services awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass expansion and a multi-year gas turbine agreement tied to U.S. data center power demand.
• Analysts remain generally bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $70.14, even as insiders have been net sellers recently.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,578,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 106,244 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Baker Hughes worth $157,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,005.1% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 49,353,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,247,550,000 after buying an additional 44,887,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,022,491,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Baker Hughes by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,635,780 shares of the company's stock worth $529,896,000 after buying an additional 4,278,573 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Baker Hughes by 12,983.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,491,322 shares of the company's stock worth $158,994,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $144,262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Baker Hughes News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Baker Hughes this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes announced substantial equipment and services awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG expansion, including liquefaction equipment, compressors, gas turbines, and upgrade work. The deal reinforces Baker Hughes’ LNG exposure and adds visibility to future revenue. Baker Hughes Secures Substantial Equipment and Services Awards for Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG Facility
• Positive Sentiment: Baker Hughes also expanded its power-growth strategy with a multi-year agreement with Kodiak Gas Services to support U.S. data center demand, including a pathway to roughly 1.8 GW of power over time. Investors may view this as another sign the company is benefiting from the AI-driven electricity buildout. Kodiak Gas Services, Baker Hughes Announce Multi-Year Gas Turbine Order Agreement to Support U.S. Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an “outperform” rating and a $70 price target, while other firms including Susquehanna and TD Cowen also highlighted upside through target and rating updates. That steady analyst support can help reinforce bullish sentiment. Baker Hughes coverage and price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Baker Hughes is set to win conditional E.U. approval for its Chart Industries deal could remove an overhang tied to the transaction and improve the market’s confidence in the acquisition path. Baker Hughes set to win conditional E.U. approval for Chart Industries deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Baker Hughes as positioned to benefit from the broader energy transition and shifting power demand, but these were more thematic than company-specific catalysts. Can Baker Hughes Benefit From the Energy Shift?
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate note said Baker Hughes had a strong prior-session move and that earnings estimate revisions could limit near-term upside. This is more of a valuation/expectations check than a direct negative catalyst. Baker Hughes (BKR) Soars 5.7%: Is Further Upside Left in the Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: One headline said Baker Hughes is closing a facility and laying off employees, which could raise concerns about restructuring costs or demand conditions, though details were limited. HBJ: Baker Hughes closing facility, laying off employees

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $10,599,844.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 703,444 shares in the company, valued at $41,102,232.92. The trade was a 20.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total value of $326,751.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,327.34. This trade represents a 24.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 367,910 shares of company stock worth $22,420,797 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BKR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $60.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Baker Hughes in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.14.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 0.7%

BKR opened at $57.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.14. Baker Hughes Company has a 1 year low of $38.37 and a 1 year high of $70.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.13. The company has a market cap of $56.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.96.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business had revenue of $6.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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