Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 903,555 shares of the company's stock after selling 114,502 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 1.24% of Weatherford International worth $76,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Weatherford International by 8.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company's stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 50.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Weatherford International by 23.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 918 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Weatherford International by 20.7% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business'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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $79.00. 1,347,220 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 916,172. 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 52 week low of $77.24 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $91.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.93.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James cut their price target on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI cut 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $144.88.

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.