Maverick Capital Ltd. Buys Shares of 11,381 Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFRD. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,615,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 6,186.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 42,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,577,000 after acquiring an additional 41,448 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 223.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 26,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,253,000 after acquiring an additional 18,326 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 402.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 324,482 shares of the company's stock worth $27,555,000 after purchasing an additional 259,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 4.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Weatherford International has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $147.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $0.24 on Friday, hitting $82.30. 350,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 790,759. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $77.00 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $85.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.27.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

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

About Weatherford International

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.