Legal & General Group Plc Sells 47,453 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,034,685 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 47,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.27% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $8,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $182,518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,659 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $84,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $79,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,094 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $68,717,000 after acquiring an additional 478,064 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position 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 worth $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of PTEN traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $5.88. 18,008,446 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,768,876. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $7.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.60. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.12 and a 12 month high of $11.70.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -12.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PTEN shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.21.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.