Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Holdings Lifted by Capital Fund Management S.A.

Capital Fund Management S.A. raised its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 579.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,676 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 189,887 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned 0.31% of Weatherford International worth $15,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,215,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 10,189 shares of the company's stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 32,733 shares of the company's stock worth $2,345,000 after buying an additional 2,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 813,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,303,000 after buying an additional 167,090 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut their price target on Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.79. 191,114 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,075,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.49.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 14.88%.

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.