Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 6,527 Shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,527 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $7,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 16.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,078,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,881,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316,638 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,816,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,729,000 after buying an additional 379,385 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Baker Hughes by 8.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,445,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,627,000 after acquiring an additional 745,511 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Baker Hughes by 11.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,044,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,129,000 after acquiring an additional 829,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 2.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,214,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,804,000 after acquiring an additional 170,140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $31.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.45. Baker Hughes has a fifty-two week low of $26.96 and a fifty-two week high of $37.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Baker Hughes will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKR has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.88, for a total transaction of $169,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,132.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total value of $294,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,437.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.