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

Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,260 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring 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.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 364.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. This trade represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on WFRD shares. Benchmark reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.63.

Weatherford International Trading Up 2.8 %

WFRD stock opened at $53.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.70. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $51.24 and a one year 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.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.86%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.