Westpac Banking Corp Decreases Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its position in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,177 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $1,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter worth about $1,482,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 116,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,771,000 after acquiring an additional 16,010 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,057,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,288,000 after purchasing an additional 167,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 441,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,096,000 after purchasing an additional 231,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of Baker Hughes stock opened at $40.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.08. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.96. Baker Hughes has a 52 week low of $30.93 and a 52 week high of $49.40.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 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%. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKR. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,730.54. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.