Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,177,877 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 47,727 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Baker Hughes worth $42,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Baker Hughes by 6.4% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,362,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,271,000 after buying an additional 81,625 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baker Hughes during the 3rd quarter worth $1,980,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Baker Hughes by 76.1% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 122,661 shares of the company's stock worth $4,434,000 after purchasing an additional 53,006 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Baker Hughes by 7.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,424,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,523,000 after purchasing an additional 455,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Baker Hughes by 60.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,270,165 shares of the company's stock worth $45,916,000 after purchasing an additional 478,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BKR. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Baker Hughes from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Baker Hughes from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Baker Hughes from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Baker Hughes from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Baker Hughes Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BKR traded down $0.17 on Monday, reaching $40.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,094,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,150,892. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.40. Baker Hughes has a twelve month low of $28.32 and a twelve month high of $45.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.85 and a 200-day moving average of $37.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.06. Baker Hughes had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 13.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Baker Hughes will post 2.29 EPS for the current year.

Baker Hughes Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Baker Hughes's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.67%.

Baker Hughes Profile

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations.