Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 500,005 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,182 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.69% of Weatherford International worth $35,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 14,994 shares of the company's stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment 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, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.23. 4,730,425 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,375,656. 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 plc has a 12 month low of $51.24 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $64.10 and its 200 day moving average is $76.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This trade represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. This represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Company 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.