Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,374 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,416 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Weatherford International worth $26,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 143,900 shares of the company's stock worth $12,220,000 after purchasing an additional 57,866 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company's stock worth $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 79.1% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 19,133 shares of the company's stock worth $1,625,000 after buying an additional 8,451 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at $2,239,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 11,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.
Weatherford International Stock Performance
Shares of WFRD traded up $2.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,769,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,774. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.07. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01.
Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.
Weatherford International Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 14.88%.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock worth $5,861,718 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have weighed in on WFRD shares. Benchmark dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.75.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WFRD
Weatherford International Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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