Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 132.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 728,266 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 414,528 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.00% of Weatherford International worth $52,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Weatherford International by 364.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Weatherford International by 643.0% during the 4th 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 position 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 acquiring an additional 1,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $807,179.94. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following 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. Insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.5 %

WFRD stock opened at $56.11 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $52.10 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.33.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.