Capital World Investors Boosts Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,298,137 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 121,153 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 1.79% of Weatherford International worth $92,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,349 shares of the company's stock worth $2,663,000 after acquiring an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth about $571,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,173 shares of the company's stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 461,790 shares of the company's stock worth $43,007,000 after acquiring an additional 179,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 94.2% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 175,369 shares of the company's stock worth $14,892,000 after acquiring an additional 85,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFRD. Raymond James lowered shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value 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 approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of Weatherford International stock traded up $1.30 on Friday, reaching $42.74. 2,610,496 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,114,257. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $36.74 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.64 and a 200 day moving average of $67.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.36, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

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.