Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,193,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 347,147 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.25% of Baker Hughes worth $4,971,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 289,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,872,000 after purchasing an additional 105,878 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth about $15,424,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 16,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,970 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 5,538.9% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 19,940 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Baker Hughes by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 93,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 29,367 shares during the period. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In related news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,730.54. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:BKR opened at $44.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $44.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.96 and a 200 day moving average of $41.50. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $30.93 and a 1-year high of $49.40.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 30.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.06.

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.