Blue Trust Inc. Sells 8,448 Shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 61.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,448 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKR. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 69,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 7,596 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 156.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 12,137 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,679 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 10,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 269,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,750,000 after acquiring an additional 67,212 shares during the period. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BKR shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Baker Hughes from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at $7,758,730.54. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 0.2 %

BKR stock opened at $46.89 on Thursday. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $28.66 and a twelve month high of $49.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.11 and a 200 day moving average of $40.04.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 10.70%. On average, research analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. This is an increase from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.87%.

Baker Hughes 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.