Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 13,398 Shares of Baker Hughes Company $BKR

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) by 144.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,680 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,398 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Baker Hughes were worth $1,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BKR. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 1,242.5% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in Baker Hughes by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Baker Hughes by 61.7% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Baker Hughes in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 92.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BKR opened at $59.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.36. Baker Hughes Company has a 52-week low of $33.60 and a 52-week high of $62.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.55. The firm has a market cap of $59.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.11. Baker Hughes had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 9.33%.The firm had revenue of $7.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baker Hughes Company will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Baker Hughes’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BKR. iA Financial set a $60.00 target price on shares of Baker Hughes in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on Baker Hughes from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Argus raised their target price on Baker Hughes from $55.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $55.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Baker Hughes presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Rebecca L. Charlton sold 1,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $110,703.45. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,052 shares in the company, valued at $672,140.04. This represents a 14.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Maria Georgia Magno sold 19,150 shares of Baker Hughes stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.11, for a total value of $1,131,956.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,296.68. This trade represents a 56.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 40,001 shares of company stock worth $2,322,692 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes is an energy technology company that provides a broad portfolio of products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas and industrial markets. Its offerings span oilfield services and equipment — including drilling, evaluation, completion and production technologies — as well as turbomachinery, compressors and related process equipment used in midstream and downstream operations. The company also supplies aftermarket services, field support and integrated solutions designed to improve asset performance and uptime across the energy value chain.

The firm’s roots trace back to the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Company, and more recently it combined with GE’s oil and gas business in 2017 to form Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE); subsequent changes in ownership restored Baker Hughes as an independent publicly traded company.