Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 692,859 Shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 8.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,723,388 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 692,859 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $306,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKR. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Baker Hughes by 49.9% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 321,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,319,000 after buying an additional 107,163 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 868,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,556,000 after acquiring an additional 102,352 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,477,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Baker Hughes during the second quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 121.4% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 250,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,210,000 after purchasing an additional 137,175 shares in the last quarter. 92.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Trading Up 4.1 %

BKR opened at $36.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.19 and a 200 day moving average of $33.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Baker Hughes has a 12 month low of $28.32 and a 12 month high of $39.05. The firm has a market cap of $36.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.38.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.08. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baker Hughes will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lorenzo Simonelli sold 114,286 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $4,000,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,571,855. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BKR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Baker Hughes from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baker Hughes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.38.

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.