Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,076,220 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 305,039 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.'s holdings in Shell were worth $67,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SHEL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Shell by 11.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 184,919 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $12,195,000 after acquiring an additional 18,725 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Shell during the 3rd quarter worth $671,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Shell by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 463,797 shares of the energy company's stock worth $30,592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Shell by 4.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 73,709 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,184 shares during the period. Finally, Stansberry Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Shell by 1.0% in the third quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC now owns 337,402 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $22,252,000 after buying an additional 3,374 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Shell from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Shell currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $80.10.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of SHEL traded down $1.82 on Monday, reaching $62.31. The stock had a trading volume of 14,906,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,223,650. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27. Shell plc has a twelve month low of $60.15 and a twelve month high of $74.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.06 and a 200 day moving average of $66.47.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. Sell-side analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. This is a positive change from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.97%.

Shell 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.