QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 6,038 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,575 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 6,038 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Shell were worth $12,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Shell by 930.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shell during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Shell during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Shell during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Shell in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shell Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:SHEL traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $66.49. 6,507,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,025,299. Shell plc has a 52 week low of $60.15 and a 52 week high of $74.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $65.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research 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 will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.716 dividend. This is an increase from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Shell's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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 decreased their price objective on Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Shell from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.