Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 646,855 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 99.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 646,855 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFRD. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at $104,287,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at $65,678,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,334,000 after buying an additional 840,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,166,000 after buying an additional 414,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WFRD shares. Raymond James downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.63.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,025,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,192,391. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. 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 capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $45.41 and its 200-day moving average is $59.05.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.00%.

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.