National Pension Service Lowers Stock Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

National Pension Service reduced its stake in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,277,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,618 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $52,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 2,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

NASDAQ BKR opened at $43.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.42. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $29.19 and a 1-year high of $49.40. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 10.70%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is a boost from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.