Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Takes $738,000 Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth approximately $551,555,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,445,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,627,000 after acquiring an additional 745,511 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,669,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,319,000 after buying an additional 1,395,083 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,658,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,579,000 after purchasing an additional 204,839 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,996,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,957,000 after buying an additional 470,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKR has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.27.

Baker Hughes Stock Up 1.2 %

Baker Hughes stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,274,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,696,971. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.06. Baker Hughes has a 52-week low of $28.32 and a 52-week high of $37.58.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 11.42%. Baker Hughes’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 55,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $1,791,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 92,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,945,120. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Company 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.