abrdn plc Cuts Stake in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

abrdn plc reduced its stake in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,351,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,911,399 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned 0.43% of Baker Hughes worth $148,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,813,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 731.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,458,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283,296 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 905,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,983,000 after acquiring an additional 97,108 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 3,111,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,365,000 after acquiring an additional 248,125 shares during the period. Finally, DDD Partners LLC bought a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,054,000. 92.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

BKR traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.60. The stock had a trading volume of 7,513,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,302,083. The company has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.68 and a 200 day moving average of $32.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.25. Baker Hughes has a 1 year low of $26.81 and a 1 year high of $37.58.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 7.62%. Baker Hughes’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BKR. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research cut Baker Hughes from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $294,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,437.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total value of $294,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,437.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.