Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 12,799 Shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 794,410 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,799 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $32,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,289,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Baker Hughes by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 10,920,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,811,940 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Baker Hughes during the 4th quarter worth $107,155,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Baker Hughes in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,296,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 217.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,901,000 after buying an additional 1,184,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKR. Barclays upped their price target on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,758,730.54. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BKR opened at $44.69 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.26. The firm has a market cap of $44.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Baker Hughes has a 1-year low of $30.93 and a 1-year high of $49.40.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.87%.

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.