iA Global Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 83,601 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 7,258 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $2,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in Halliburton by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 71,797 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 23,340 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Halliburton by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,257,250 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $61,375,000 after purchasing an additional 80,567 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $621,000. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in Halliburton by 180.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 43,675 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 28,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scott & Selber Inc. lifted its position in Halliburton by 109.9% during the fourth quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 81,335 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $2,211,000 after buying an additional 42,590 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total transaction of $258,226.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 77,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,486.40. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 206,782 shares of company stock worth $5,321,170 in the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Halliburton Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE HAL opened at $24.75 on Friday. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $23.42 and a 12 month high of $41.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.08.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid 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 2.75%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.03%.

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.