UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,189 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after buying an additional 15,671 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $2,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 902,208 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $25,848,000 after purchasing an additional 12,810 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Halliburton by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 26,643 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Halliburton by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 28,350 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 2,610 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,461,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 395,772 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $11,497,000 after acquiring an additional 43,895 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE:HAL opened at $25.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.95. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $23.42 and a 52 week high of $41.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halliburton news, CFO Eric Carre sold 51,179 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $1,279,475.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,525. The trade was a 28.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total transaction of $258,226.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 77,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,486.40. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 206,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,170. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HAL. Raymond James cut shares of Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Halliburton from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Halliburton from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Halliburton from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.42.

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.