Fmr LLC Has $303.42 Million Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

FMR LLC raised its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 36.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,573,003 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 959,783 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 4.92% of Weatherford International worth $303,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1,516.2% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 598 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WFRD. Bank of America cut their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.29.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.30. 350,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 790,759. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $77.00 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Weatherford International's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.