D.A. Davidson & CO. Acquires 9,903 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,412 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 9,903 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Shell were worth $11,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SHEL. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Shell during the third quarter worth about $121,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Shell during the third quarter worth about $207,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Shell by 45.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,181 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 5,050 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Shell by 3.8% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 21,851 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Shell by 1.9% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 22,468 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Stock Down 2.5 %

SHEL stock traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.67. The company had a trading volume of 3,329,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,032,481. Shell plc has a 1 year low of $60.15 and a 1 year high of $74.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $202.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.84.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. This is a positive change from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SHEL. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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 raised Shell from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shell presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $79.11.

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.