New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 30,642 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 320,871 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 30,642 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $2,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 103.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 84,307 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 42,824 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,963 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 7,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 881,036 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,740,000 after purchasing an additional 95,289 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $8.11. 9,257,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,045,787. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.49 and a 200 day moving average of $8.35. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $7.15 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.28 and a beta of 2.07. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PTEN shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.63.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.