Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Takes $2.79 Million Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 38,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,785,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Weatherford International as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter worth about $34,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares in the company, valued at $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock traded down $3.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $70.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,161,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,368. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.35 and a 200 day moving average of $84.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $60.45 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. On average, equities analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WFRD. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.63.

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.