Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,650 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 2,747 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Shell were worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SHEL. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Shell by 930.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Shell during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Shell during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Price Performance

Shell stock opened at $67.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $206.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. Shell plc has a 12-month low of $60.15 and a 12-month high of $74.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.32.

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

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.716 per share. This is a positive change from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SHEL shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Shell from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.11.

Shell Company 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.