M&T Bank Corp Has $576,000 Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 74.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 238.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 4,254 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 25.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 97,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,890,000 after purchasing an additional 19,853 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the second quarter worth approximately $253,000. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.9 %

WFRD opened at $71.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $71.13 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.68.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

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.