Sandy Spring Bank Raises Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,321 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $640,000. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 315.0% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 138,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,693,000 after buying an additional 105,349 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Baker Hughes during the fourth quarter worth about $1,180,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,053,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,233,000 after buying an additional 239,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 214,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,801,000 after buying an additional 12,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on BKR shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Baker Hughes from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.06.

Baker Hughes Stock Performance

Shares of BKR stock opened at $44.11 on Friday. Baker Hughes has a one year low of $30.93 and a one year 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 14.58%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. This is a positive change from Baker Hughes’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.87%.

Insider Transactions at Baker Hughes

In other news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $358,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,758,730.54. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.