Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Merewether Investment Management LP

Merewether Investment Management LP cut its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 85.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,590 shares of the company's stock after selling 470,213 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP owned about 0.11% of Weatherford International worth $6,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the second quarter worth $20,584,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the first quarter worth $2,132,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 33.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company's stock worth $77,372,000 after purchasing an additional 156,756 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 7.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 92,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Weatherford International by 6.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 203,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,248,000 after acquiring an additional 13,007 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Trading Down 0.1 %

WFRD traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $84.80. 895,559 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 904,634. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $77.00 and a one year high of $135.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.57. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. Weatherford International's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 note on Monday, October 14th. 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 note on Thursday, November 14th. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Six research 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, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $147.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 company insiders.

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.