Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 875,987 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 154,661 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $54,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $91,716,000. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Shell by 29.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,773,617 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $248,870,000 after purchasing an additional 866,954 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Shell by 41.0% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 1,544,764 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $101,877,000 after buying an additional 449,000 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Shell by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,938,735 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,562,412,000 after buying an additional 408,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Shell by 16,663.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 307,440 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $19,261,000 after acquiring an additional 305,606 shares in the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shell Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SHEL opened at $72.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.42. Shell plc has a 1-year low of $60.15 and a 1-year high of $74.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SHEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Shell from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of Shell from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.10.

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.