LPL Financial LLC Sells 11,718 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

LPL Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 106,129 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 11,718 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,254,137 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $182,518,000 after buying an additional 2,123,659 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,477,000 after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $79,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,029,000. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $5.88 on Tuesday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.12 and a 1 year high of $11.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.98. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.38 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.44%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.21.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Drilling Products. The Contract Drilling Services segment provides contract and directional drilling services in onshore oil and natural gas basins, as well as engages in the service and re-certification of equipment for drilling contractors, and provision of electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries.