Caxton Associates LP Takes Position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 328,102 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $8,921,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Halliburton by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,255 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,549 shares during the period. BNP Paribas lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 232.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 14,640 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 10,240 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 148.4% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,902 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 14,280 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth about $981,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 280.9% in the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 759,684 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $20,656,000 after buying an additional 560,229 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of Halliburton stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.38. 11,806,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,351,489. Halliburton has a one year low of $18.72 and a one year high of $38.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.14.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.60. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.28 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 26.03%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HAL has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Halliburton from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Halliburton from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Halliburton from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Halliburton to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $258,226.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 77,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,913,486.40. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares in the company, valued at $3,321,149.13. This represents a 52.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 206,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,170. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.