MML Investors Services LLC Acquires 23,162 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,983 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,162 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Shell were worth $9,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 105.6% in 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 lifted its position in Shell by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 40,916 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 9,028 shares during the last quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $582,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Shell by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 218,933 shares of the energy company's stock worth $13,716,000 after buying an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Shell by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 10,042 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Shell from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.73.

Shell Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:SHEL traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.01. 3,496,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,315,246. Shell plc has a 1 year low of $58.55 and a 1 year high of $74.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $67.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.96. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. Analysts predict that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. This is a boost from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.97%.

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.