Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 20,211,885 Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,211,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,092,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 2.04% of Baker Hughes at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 135.9% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 2,181.6% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 867 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,045.1% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 889,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 811,711 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.06.

Insider Activity at Baker Hughes

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,730.54. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $43.63 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.61. Baker Hughes has a fifty-two week low of $30.93 and a fifty-two week high of $49.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 10.70%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 30.87%.

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.