Washington Trust Bank Invests $3.67 Million in Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Key Points

• Washington Trust Bank bought 80,641 shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter, a new stake valued at about $3.67 million.
• Baker Hughes reported Q1 earnings of $0.58 per share, topping analyst expectations of $0.49, while revenue came in at $6.59 billion, slightly below estimates but still up 2.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share payable May 15, and analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $69.18 average price target.

Washington Trust Bank bought a new position in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 80,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,672,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 840 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 357.8% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,021 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 60.6% in the third quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other news, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 5,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.04, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 24.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 $50,938,242.76. The trade was a 23.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 550,250 shares of company stock valued at $32,988,331 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $64.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.12. Baker Hughes Company has a 12 month low of $35.83 and a 12 month high of $70.41.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Johnson Rice assumed coverage on Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Baker Hughes currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.18.

Baker Hughes Company 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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