Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Sells 144,073 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 72.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,422 shares of the company's stock after selling 144,073 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.08% of Weatherford International worth $3,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFRD. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 55.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,109 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,382,000 after purchasing an additional 157,000 shares during the period. Alden Global Capital LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 113.8% during the fourth quarter. Alden Global Capital LLC now owns 22,268 shares of the company's stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 11,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Weatherford International by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 669,040 shares of the company's stock worth $47,923,000 after purchasing an additional 159,160 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock worth $93,334,000 after purchasing an additional 840,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Weatherford International by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,375,000 after purchasing an additional 298,811 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This represents a 90.15 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.1 %

Weatherford International stock traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $46.07. 1,765,395 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,155,950. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $47.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark dropped 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. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.75.

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.