New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $12.02 Million Stock Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,454,877 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 486,787 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.37% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $12,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 92.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,885 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,498 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 47.4% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,010 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This trade represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PTEN. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 2.5 %

PTEN stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.31. The company had a trading volume of 8,508,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,519,816. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.36 and a beta of 2.06. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.15 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Profile

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.