Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Purchases 100,000 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,100,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.54% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $17,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $84,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,254,137 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $52,817,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $182,518,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,659 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.84. 7,650,939 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,345,442. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $8.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $5.63 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PTEN shares. Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Drilling Products. The Contract Drilling Services segment provides contract and directional drilling services in onshore oil and natural gas basins, as well as engages in the service and re-certification of equipment for drilling contractors, and provision of electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries.