Brandes Investment Partners LP Decreases Position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Brandes Investment Partners LP lessened its stake in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,606,673 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 121,148 shares during the period. Halliburton comprises approximately 1.4% of Brandes Investment Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.52% of Halliburton worth $125,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HAL. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Halliburton by 101.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Halliburton by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Halliburton by 34.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Halliburton Stock Performance

HAL traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.04. 9,792,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,547,190. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $26.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $23.42 and a 1-year high of $41.56.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.04, for a total transaction of $93,756.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $253,646.04. This represents a 26.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,321,149.13. The trade was a 52.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 206,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,170. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HAL shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Halliburton from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Halliburton in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.42.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.