Halliburton Company $HAL Shares Purchased by ARGA Investment Management LP

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management LP increased its Halliburton stake by 10.7% in the first quarter, buying 85,937 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 890,033 shares worth about $34.7 million.
• Several institutional investors also adjusted positions in HAL, while insiders were net sellers: VP Timothy Mckeon and Director Tobi M. Young both sold shares, and insiders sold 258,255 shares over the last three months.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Halliburton, with 18 Buy ratings and an average “Moderate Buy” rating; the stock’s average price target is $43.18, above its Friday opening price of $34.37.

ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 890,033 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after purchasing an additional 85,937 shares during the quarter. Halliburton accounts for about 1.1% of ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. ARGA Investment Management LP owned approximately 0.11% of Halliburton worth $34,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,312 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,320 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,363 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,517 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In related news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total transaction of $363,510.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 72,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,064,992. This represents a 10.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $636,230. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535 in the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAL has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised Halliburton from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zephirin Group boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Capital One Financial increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Halliburton currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.18.

Halliburton Stock Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $34.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Halliburton Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.17 and a fifty-two week high of $43.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.25 and a 200-day moving average of $36.03. The stock has a market cap of $28.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.71.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.36%.

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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