Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,972,945 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,637 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Shell were worth $408,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shell in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Shell during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Shell in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shell Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHEL opened at $63.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $196.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.55. Shell plc has a 1 year low of $60.34 and a 1 year high of $74.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Shell Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.688 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SHEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Shell from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Shell to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Shell from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Shell presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.75.

Shell Profile

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market.