Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Position Cut by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 137,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,198 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $9,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,760,000 after purchasing an additional 270,775 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,877,000 after buying an additional 144,396 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,555,000 after buying an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,723,000 after buying an additional 204,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,678,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 12.4 %

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $39.79 on Monday. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $36.99 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.92, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total value of $929,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,517.72. This represents a 61.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Weatherford International Company 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.