Whittier Trust Co. Has $1.81 Million Stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,859 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,008 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Shell were worth $1,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SHEL. Sandy Spring Bank raised its stake in shares of Shell by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 117,392 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $7,355,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Shell by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. now owns 110,194 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,904,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Shell by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 4,489 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Shell by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,829 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new position in Shell in the fourth quarter valued at about $668,000. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shell Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:SHEL opened at $71.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $214.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35. Shell plc has a 52-week low of $60.15 and a 52-week high of $74.61.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.716 dividend. This is a boost from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities lifted their target price on Shell from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.48.

About Shell

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market.