Americana Partners LLC Acquires 185,711 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 373.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,467 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 185,711 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Shell were worth $14,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Shell by 930.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Shell during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in Shell during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Shell during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Shell by 40.8% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 563 shares of the energy company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Stock Performance

Shell stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $67.55. 1,771,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,069,137. The firm has a market cap of $205.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.47, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.61 and a 200 day moving average of $66.85. Shell plc has a 12 month low of $60.15 and a 12 month high of $74.61.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. This is a boost from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Shell's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Shell from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Shell currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $79.11.

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.