Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,966 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 58,016 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Shell were worth $8,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Shell by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,594 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Shell by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,972,945 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $408,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,637 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 18,133 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during the last quarter. Doliver Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Shell by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 3,632 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, InvesTrust acquired a new position in Shell in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,965,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHEL opened at $66.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.90. Shell plc has a 52 week low of $58.55 and a 52 week high of $74.61. The company has a market cap of $200.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.18 billion. Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Shell from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.73.

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.