Palouse Capital Management Inc. Sells 4,428 Shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,428 shares during the quarter. Baker Hughes makes up approximately 2.9% of Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $4,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 4th quarter valued at $195,343,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,078,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,881,000 after buying an additional 2,316,638 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 846.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,378,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,025,000 after buying an additional 2,127,675 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,986,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,378,000 after buying an additional 1,919,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 1st quarter valued at $69,329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Price Performance

NASDAQ:BKR traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.60. The stock had a trading volume of 7,513,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,803,396. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Baker Hughes has a 12 month low of $26.81 and a 12 month high of $37.58.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 10.63%. Baker Hughes’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 12th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Baker Hughes in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wolfe Research cut Baker Hughes from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.87.

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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,998 shares in the company, valued at $508,132.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 5,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $508,132.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP James E. Apostolides sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.44, for a total transaction of $294,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $425,437.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.