Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,494 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SHEL. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Shell by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 149,983 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $9,396,000 after purchasing an additional 23,162 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Shell by 105.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 136,134 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,529,000 after buying an additional 69,929 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Shell by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 40,916 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,563,000 after buying an additional 9,028 shares in the last quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $582,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Shell by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 218,933 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $13,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares during the period. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shell Price Performance

SHEL stock opened at $65.17 on Wednesday. Shell plc has a one year low of $58.55 and a one year high of $74.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SHEL. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group raised Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.73.

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.