Empirical Finance LLC Raises Holdings in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) by 3.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,892 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Baker Hughes by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 5,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 6.4% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Baker Hughes by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.06% of the company’s stock.

Baker Hughes Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of BKR stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, hitting $34.50. 4,738,599 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,668,344. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.41. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $28.32 and a twelve month high of $37.58.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Baker Hughes will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Baker Hughes’s payout ratio is currently 46.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKR. UBS Group boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Baker Hughes from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baker Hughes presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Baker Hughes

In other Baker Hughes news, EVP Maria C. Borras sold 55,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $1,791,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 92,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,945,120. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.