Eventide Asset Management LLC Invests $1.86 Million in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management opened a new position in Halliburton, buying 65,344 shares worth about $1.86 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains dominant, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 85.23% of Halliburton shares; several large funds increased their stakes during the period.
• Halliburton has seen mixed insider activity and positive analyst sentiment: insiders sold shares in recent months, while analysts have mostly upgraded price targets, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy and a target price of $43.27.

Eventide Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 65,344 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,862,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $3,114,848,000 after purchasing an additional 19,190,520 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,825,761 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,436,336,000 after purchasing an additional 861,964 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,097,164 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $878,806,000 after purchasing an additional 443,064 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 82,596.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $841,339,000 after purchasing an additional 29,735,387 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 26,004,682 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $639,715,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,983 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,064,992. This trade represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 158,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $6,338,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,013,027 shares in the company, valued at $40,521,080. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 391,932 shares of company stock valued at $15,999,453 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Halliburton from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.27.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE HAL opened at $39.52 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $20.09 and a 12 month high of $43.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.84 and a 200-day moving average of $35.09.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.36%.

Halliburton 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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