6,719 Shares in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,419,000 after purchasing an additional 959,783 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company's stock worth $192,555,000 after purchasing an additional 68,553 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company's stock worth $122,356,000 after buying an additional 1,219,553 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 30.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,443,000 after buying an additional 310,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company's stock worth $80,566,000 after buying an additional 38,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Weatherford International stock traded down $1.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.09. 568,833 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 656,187. The firm's 50 day moving average is $84.22 and its 200 day moving average is $100.47. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $75.79 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.04.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 14.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $140.50.

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.