Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 270,775 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 270,775 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.60% of Weatherford International worth $551,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Weatherford International by 643.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 11,606.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFRD. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.75.

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Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 16.3 %

WFRD traded down $8.85 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $45.41. 2,012,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,451. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $135.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $60.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Weatherford International Profile

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.