Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 147,640 Shares of Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its Baker Hughes stake by 35.3% in Q4, buying 147,640 shares to hold 565,995 shares (about 0.06% of the company) valued at roughly $25.8 million.
• Baker Hughes beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.78 (vs. $0.67 expected) and revenue of $7.39 billion (vs. $7.09B), and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.23 (annualized $0.92, ~1.5% yield).
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares (~$16.0 million) and insiders have sold 590,251 shares in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.19% ownership.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 35.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 565,995 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 147,640 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.06% of Baker Hughes worth $25,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKR. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter valued at $729,670,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 47,546,388 shares of the company's stock worth $2,316,462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153,709 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 25.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,325,417 shares of the company's stock worth $454,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906,384 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 7.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,903,241 shares of the company's stock worth $1,262,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,016 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 359.7% in the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 2,165,846 shares of the company's stock worth $105,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $60.25 on Wednesday. Baker Hughes Company has a 52-week low of $34.56 and a 52-week high of $67.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.09 and a 200 day moving average of $53.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.11. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 14.26%. The company had revenue of $7.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Baker Hughes's payout ratio is 35.38%.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In related news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 1,985 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $110,703.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,140.04. The trade was a 14.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 272,594 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total transaction of $16,025,801.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 866,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,938,242.76. This trade represents a 23.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 590,251 shares of company stock valued at $35,311,023 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zephirin Group upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Baker Hughes from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.30.

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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