Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Position Lessened by Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,160 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,315 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $3,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SHEL. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Shell by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 86,417,177 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,414,036,000 after buying an additional 21,118,234 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter valued at about $91,716,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Shell by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,938,735 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,562,412,000 after purchasing an additional 408,088 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Shell by 236.4% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 445,422 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,906,000 after purchasing an additional 313,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Shell by 16,663.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 307,440 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $19,261,000 after purchasing an additional 305,606 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shell Stock Up 7.1 %

Shares of SHEL opened at $63.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.31. Shell plc has a one year low of $58.55 and a one year high of $74.61. The company has a market capitalization of $193.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27.

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 net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 boost from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Shell’s payout ratio is 56.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SHEL. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Shell from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Shell presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.98.

About Shell

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.