Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 107,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,410,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,362,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,271,000 after purchasing an additional 81,625 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth about $640,000. Burney Co. increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 315.0% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 138,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,693,000 after purchasing an additional 105,349 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth about $1,180,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,053,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,233,000 after purchasing an additional 239,773 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 1.7 %

Baker Hughes stock opened at $42.86 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.68. Baker Hughes has a fifty-two week low of $29.30 and a fifty-two week high of $49.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,758,730.54. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BKR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.06.

Baker Hughes Profile

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.