Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 198,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,102 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $14,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Weatherford International by 643.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 11,606.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 6.8 %

WFRD stock opened at $65.48 on Monday. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $60.45 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.99.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total transaction of $346,006.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of 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, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.