Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Bought by State Street Corp

State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,267,484 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,553 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.12% of Weatherford International worth $192,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WFRD. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $140.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 2.5 %

WFRD traded down $1.95 on Friday, hitting $76.09. The company had a trading volume of 568,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.61. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $75.79 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

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

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.