Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Position Lessened by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 417,154 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 28,967 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $16,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,179,579 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $42,642,000 after buying an additional 189,324 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 206,692 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $7,472,000 after purchasing an additional 84,771 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 490,230 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $17,722,000 after purchasing an additional 31,534 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $1,908,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Halliburton by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,350 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Halliburton from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com lowered Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Halliburton from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.35.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $33.94 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.07. The company has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.93. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $32.60 and a 12-month high of $43.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oilfield services company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Halliburton had a return on equity of 29.97% and a net margin of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Halliburton will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total transaction of $369,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 283,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,481,883.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Jill D. Sharp sold 3,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $123,802.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,486,845. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total value of $369,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 283,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,481,883.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,287 shares of company stock valued at $2,298,204. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton 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.