Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by Founders Financial Alliance LLC

Founders Financial Alliance LLC reduced its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 46.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,507 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 2,990 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $283,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Shell by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 17,570 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Shell by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 5,115 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of Shell by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,760 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Shell by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,614 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Stock Performance

NYSE:SHEL opened at $66.81 on Wednesday. Shell plc has a twelve month low of $60.15 and a twelve month high of $74.61. The company has a market cap of $203.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.31.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell’s payout ratio is currently 56.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Shell from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Shell presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.11.

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.