Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,057,462 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,270 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 1.46% of Weatherford International worth $89,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 1,138.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 29,530 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 591.9% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 51,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,377,000 after buying an additional 44,090 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 551.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter worth approximately $2,609,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the third quarter worth $4,247,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Down 1.7 %

Weatherford International stock traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $84.38. 772,370 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 913,125. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $77.00 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.97 and a 200-day moving average of $104.57.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Weatherford International's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $147.29.

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.