Swiss National Bank Acquires 195,600 Shares of Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its Baker Hughes stake by 7.2% in the first quarter, buying 195,600 more shares and bringing its total holding to 2,895,920 shares worth about $176.8 million.
• Baker Hughes posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the quarter ended April 23, reporting $0.58 EPS versus $0.49 expected, though revenue of $6.59 billion came in slightly below estimates.
• Insider selling and analyst sentiment remain mixed: CEO Lorenzo Simonelli and CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold shares recently, while analysts overall rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $70.

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,895,920 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 195,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Baker Hughes worth $176,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EFG International AG bought a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 344.1% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 604 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

NASDAQ BKR opened at $55.95 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $60.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Baker Hughes Company has a 12-month low of $38.97 and a 12-month high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.09. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 11.17%.The firm had revenue of $6.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 181,411 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 20.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 5,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.22, for a total transaction of $326,751.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,027,327.34. The trade was a 24.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 367,910 shares of company stock valued at $22,420,797. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BKR shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Baker Hughes from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Baker Hughes from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

About Baker Hughes

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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