Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC decreased its position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 723,534 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 5,250 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $45,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Shell during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Shell in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities upped their price objective on Shell from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Shell from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Shell presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.10.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHEL opened at $73.35 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.38. The company has a market cap of $221.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. Shell plc has a 12-month low of $60.15 and a 12-month high of $74.61. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. Equities analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 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 3.90%. Shell’s payout ratio is presently 56.97%.

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.