Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. cut its holdings in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 333 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $546,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service increased its stake in Baker Hughes by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,362,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,271,000 after buying an additional 81,625 shares during the period. Burney Co. lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 315.0% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 138,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,693,000 after purchasing an additional 105,349 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,180,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,053,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,233,000 after purchasing an additional 239,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in Baker Hughes by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 214,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,801,000 after purchasing an additional 12,178 shares during the period. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,758,730.54. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded Baker Hughes from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.06.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ:BKR opened at $44.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Baker Hughes has a 12-month low of $28.32 and a 12-month high of $47.47.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 13.77%. Equities research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.