Congress Asset Management Co. Has $46.74 Million Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 652,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 251,081 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $46,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,419,000 after purchasing an additional 959,783 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 551.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,553 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,443,000 after acquiring an additional 310,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Weatherford International by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,723,000 after buying an additional 204,317 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Weatherford International Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $70.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $60.45 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.45.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. As a group, research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade 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. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFRD. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

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.