Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 112,029 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 716,753 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,029 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $47,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SHEL. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Shell by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 3,741 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in Shell by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 292,587 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $21,119,000 after acquiring an additional 29,677 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Shell by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,698,247 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $122,579,000 after acquiring an additional 673,624 shares in the last quarter. Foresight Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 2nd quarter worth $1,472,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Shell by 8.7% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,282,868 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $348,405,000 after purchasing an additional 422,329 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised shares of Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Shell from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised Shell to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

Shell Stock Performance

NYSE:SHEL opened at $64.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.97 and its 200-day moving average is $69.71. The stock has a market cap of $200.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.56. Shell plc has a 1-year low of $60.34 and a 1-year high of $74.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.688 per share. This represents a $2.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Shell’s payout ratio is currently 56.58%.

Shell Company 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.