Principal Securities Inc. Grows Holdings in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 336.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,577 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,008 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Baker Hughes by 3.1% during 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 grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 3.0% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 20,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Baker Hughes by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 29,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BKR opened at $46.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.09. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $28.88 and a 52 week high of $49.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly 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 predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $358,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 173,302 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.