Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 551.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,440,837 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 1.98% of Weatherford International worth $122,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Fifth Third Bancorp increased 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 8.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,585 shares of the company's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 50.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 20.7% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WFRD stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,055,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,745. The company's fifty day moving average is $86.97 and its 200 day moving average is $104.83. 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 fifty-two week low of $77.00 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $147.29.

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.