Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,464 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 4,707 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Shell were worth $2,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Shell in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 28.60% of the company's stock.

Shell Stock Performance

NYSE:SHEL traded down $0.82 on Friday, hitting $66.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,507,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,312,754. 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 stock has a market cap of $200.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $66.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.87. Shell plc has a 52-week low of $58.55 and a 52-week high of $74.46.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $69.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.18 billion. Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Shell Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Shell's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Shell from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Shell to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.35.

About Shell

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.