Moran Wealth Management LLC Acquires 661 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 36.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after acquiring an additional 959,783 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,555,000 after purchasing an additional 68,553 shares in 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 valued at $122,356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,553 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,443,000 after purchasing an additional 310,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Weatherford International by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,723,000 after purchasing an additional 204,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WFRD shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James cut their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the business’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 value of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $53.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $51.24 and a 12 month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced 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 net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

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.