Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 67.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,684 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 207,503 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Helmerich & Payne worth $3,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 74.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 150,741 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,586,000 after acquiring an additional 64,465 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 67.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,957 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 5,642 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 15.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 98,411 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 13,351 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Helmerich & Payne by 510.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 140,655 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,279,000 after acquiring an additional 117,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 116.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,515 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $7,377,000 after purchasing an additional 130,455 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.05% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Helmerich & Payne

In other news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.55 per share, with a total value of $551,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 691,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. This trade represents a 2.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag bought 37,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.08 per share, for a total transaction of $1,011,600.48. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 54,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,730.48. The trade was a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Helmerich & Payne to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price target on Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI reissued an "in-line" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Helmerich & Payne has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.11.

Helmerich & Payne Trading Down 15.4 %

Helmerich & Payne stock traded down $4.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,417,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,462,446. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.48. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.57 and a 1 year high of $44.11.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. On average, analysts anticipate that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's payout ratio is 32.89%.

Helmerich & Payne Profile

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc (H&P) NYSE: HP is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders.