Legal & General Group Plc Has $11.81 Million Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 164,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,215 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $11,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,361.49. This trade represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock worth $5,861,718 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 1.8 %

WFRD stock opened at $44.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.31. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $36.74 and a one year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.75.

Weatherford International Profile

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.