Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,866 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 4,816 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Shell were worth $5,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Shell by 930.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Shell during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company's stock.

Shell Stock Down 0.0%

SHEL traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.61. 2,749,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,301,695. Shell plc has a one year low of $58.55 and a one year high of $74.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $66.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.87. The company has a market cap of $200.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 EPS 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 business had revenue of $69.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.90%.

Shell declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Shell to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Shell from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Shell currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.35.

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.