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

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 198,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,102 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.27% of Weatherford International worth $14,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. The trade was a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $65.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.60. 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 $60.45 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.56 and a 200 day moving average of $82.99.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James decreased 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, Benchmark lowered 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.