Fisher Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management reduced its Halliburton stake by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 53,364 shares and leaving it with 379,513 shares worth about $10.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with Halliburton carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $42.86, though some firms have recently trimmed their views.
• Halliburton’s stock has been under pressure as softer crude prices and concerns about slower drilling activity weighed on energy services shares; the stock was also down 3.7% and recently traded around $39.58.

Fisher Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,513 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 53,364 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC's holdings in Halliburton were worth $10,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at $1,054,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% during the 3rd 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. Tejara Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 98.8% during the 3rd 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 during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $40,480,000 after acquiring an additional 186,105 shares during the period. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,091,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HAL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Halliburton from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.86.

Halliburton News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Negative Sentiment: WTI crude slid on improving U.S.-Iran diplomacy and reduced geopolitical risk, which weighed on Halliburton and other oilfield services names. Helix Energy Solutions and TechnipFMC Shares Plummet, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: Halliburton was specifically cited as falling because the crude pullback may signal slower drilling and completions activity, which can hurt sentiment toward the stock. Why Halliburton (HAL) Stock Is Falling Today
• Negative Sentiment: Broad weakness hit other energy-service peers such as SLB and Baker Hughes, reinforcing that the move appears sector-driven rather than company-specific. Why SLB (SLB) Stock Is Trading Lower Today

Halliburton Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $39.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.38 and a 200 day moving average of $33.99. Halliburton Company has a fifty-two week low of $19.44 and a fifty-two week high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. Halliburton's quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued 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 is currently 37.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 158,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,013,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,521,080. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $636,230. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 420,837 shares of company stock worth $16,979,135 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

About Halliburton

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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