Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 100,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,215,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.14% of Weatherford International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Weatherford International by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total transaction of $929,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,892 shares in the company, valued at $590,517.72. The trade was a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark cut their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Raymond James downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD traded up $1.30 on Friday, hitting $42.74. 2,610,496 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,114,257. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.98. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

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.