Banco Santander S.A. Increases Position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 509,296 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,850 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. owned about 0.06% of Halliburton worth $13,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HAL. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Halliburton by 101.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Halliburton by 34.2% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Halliburton by 28.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,759 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Price Performance

Halliburton stock opened at $25.00 on Friday. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $23.42 and a 12-month high of $41.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 24.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HAL. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.42.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 3,900 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.04, for a total transaction of $93,756.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,551 shares in the company, valued at $253,646.04. This trade represents a 26.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares in the company, valued at $3,321,149.13. This trade represents a 52.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.