Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 56.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,076 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 7,939 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Shell were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in shares of Shell by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 11,039 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 2,459 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in Shell by 118.6% in the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 15,489 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Shell by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 800,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $50,120,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Shell by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 14,937 shares of the energy company's stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Shell by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 39,767 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,457,000 after purchasing an additional 6,212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.60% of the company's stock.

Shell Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SHEL traded up $1.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.67. 6,607,925 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,317,146. Shell plc has a 12 month low of $58.55 and a 12 month high of $74.61. The company has a market cap of $200.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.90.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.30. Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SHEL. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Shell from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.73.

Shell Company Profile

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market.