Halliburton Company $HAL Shares Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital increased its stake in Halliburton by 87.8% in Q3 to 948,909 shares (about $23.34 million), leaving institutional investors owning roughly 85.23% of the stock.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently, offloading 331,994 shares worth $11.33 million over the last three months, including EVP Lawrence J. Pope's sale of 100,000 shares.
• Halliburton beat Q4 expectations with $0.69 EPS versus a $0.55 consensus and $5.66 billion in revenue, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share (annualized $0.68, ~2.0% yield) while analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $35.38 average target.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 87.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 948,909 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after purchasing an additional 443,761 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Halliburton worth $23,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Halliburton in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 547.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Halliburton by 111.9% in the second quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $479,849.31. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 331,994 shares of company stock valued at $11,331,187. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $34.60 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.14. The stock has a market cap of $28.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $18.72 and a 12-month high of $37.03.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The company had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Halliburton's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on HAL shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus increased their price objective on Halliburton from $31.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.38.

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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