Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,073,304 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193,496 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $105,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1,261.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 381,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,425,000 after buying an additional 353,100 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 101.1% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 656,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,309,000 after purchasing an additional 330,133 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 1,564.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,398,000 after purchasing an additional 264,284 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,092,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,710,000 after purchasing an additional 238,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at about $20,965,000. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total value of $1,234,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at $4,041,049.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Weatherford International news, Director Charles M. Sledge sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.47, for a total transaction of $1,234,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,041,049.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total transaction of $6,214,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 146,895 shares in the company, valued at $15,213,915.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 145,455 shares of company stock valued at $14,863,464 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Weatherford International from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $145.00.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ WFRD traded down $3.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 225,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,613. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $55.81 and a 52-week high of $129.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 52.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

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.