Danske Bank A S Buys 1,688,146 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Danske Bank A S increased its stake in Halliburton by 1,433.1%, buying 1,688,146 shares in Q4 to hold 1,805,945 shares worth about $51.0 million (≈0.21% of the company).
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — CEO Jeffrey Miller sold 158,455 shares and insiders disposed of 202,140 shares in the last three months, a trend that can dampen market sentiment even if some sales were pre‑arranged.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $41.09, while Halliburton posted a mixed quarter (EPS $0.55 beat vs $0.50 but revenue down 0.3% year‑over‑year).

Danske Bank A S grew its stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 1,433.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,805,945 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,688,146 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S owned about 0.21% of Halliburton worth $51,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth $1,054,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $145,860,000 after acquiring an additional 96,394 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at about $1,775,000. Tejara Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 98.8% in the third quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Halliburton by 12.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $40,480,000 after acquiring an additional 186,105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Halliburton

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Macro demand outlook — Oil‑service firms are positioning for a boom as global oil investment and producer activity pick up, which should lift equipment and services demand for Halliburton. Swashbuckling oil-services firms are preparing for a boom
• Positive Sentiment: Customer pull — Halliburton executives say smaller operators are "vacuuming up" idle equipment, implying increased utilization and potential revenue pickup for service providers. Halliburton executives: Smaller operators vacuuming up equipment slack
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/TV support — Media and commentators (including Jim Cramer) are publicly positive on HAL as a cyclical play that has held up, which can support short‑term demand for the stock. Jim Cramer on Halliburton: “It’s Been a Good Stock Even in a Bad Oil Market”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent results mixed — Last quarter HAL narrowly beat EPS and revenue estimates but showed modest year‑over‑year revenue decline; beats help sentiment but leave limited upside without stronger growth. MarketBeat HAL profile / recent earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy-market divergence — Global gas tightness versus a US glut creates uneven activity across regions and basins; this mixed market backdrop could mute uniform upside for service companies. While Asia and Europe scramble for natural gas, the US glut has nowhere to go
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — VP Timothy McKeon sold 8,655 shares (under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, which lowers interpretive weight), and director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares (a ~28.7% cut to her holdings). Insider sales can sap sentiment even if some are pre‑arranged. McKeon Form 4 Young Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/caution — Commentary that the recent rally "leaves little room for error" and other cautionary takes increase downside risk if growth disappoints or macro conditions shift. Halliburton: Recent Rally Leaves Little Room For Error

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zephirin Group boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Halliburton from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Halliburton from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.09.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 158,455 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $6,338,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,013,027 shares in the company, valued at $40,521,080. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 19,618 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $663,480.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,652,173.70. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 202,140 shares of company stock worth $7,936,927 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $41.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.28 and a 200-day moving average of $32.00. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $19.22 and a 12 month high of $42.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.73.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.36%.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, offering a broad portfolio that supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs from exploration and drilling through production and abandonment. Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, the firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has developed into an integrated oilfield services company serving upstream operators globally.

The company's activities encompass drilling and evaluation, well construction and completion, production enhancement and well intervention.

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