Fred Alger Management LLC Has $3.58 Million Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 6,186.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,118 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 41,448 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Weatherford International worth $3,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,419,000 after acquiring an additional 959,783 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,443,000 after acquiring an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,566,000 after acquiring an additional 38,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,372,000 after acquiring an additional 156,756 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.30. 350,439 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 790,759. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $85.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.27. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $77.00 and a 52 week high of $135.00.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFRD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $147.29.

Weatherford International 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.