Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Purchased by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. increased its position in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,760 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Shell were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SHEL. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Shell by 930.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Shell in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Shell in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHEL opened at $66.80 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. Shell plc has a one year low of $60.15 and a one year high of $74.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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 return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. Analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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