Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 4,628 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,442 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 4,628 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Shell were worth $5,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SHEL. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Shell by 930.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Shell in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE SHEL opened at $68.78 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.21. Shell plc has a one year low of $60.15 and a one year high of $74.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. 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 released 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%. Research analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. This is a positive change from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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