Halliburton Company $HAL Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management cut its Halliburton stake by 26.1% in the third quarter, selling 46,400 shares and retaining 131,600 shares valued at approximately $4.19 million.
• Halliburton reported quarterly EPS of $0.60, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 1.8% year over year to $5.70 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.17, equivalent to a 2.0% annualized yield.
• Despite shares trading near $34.57 and recently declining 4.4%, analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $43.86.

Heritage Investors Management Corp decreased its position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 26.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,600 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 46,400 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Halliburton were worth $4,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter worth $6,749,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 15.9% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 206,883 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $6,579,000 after buying an additional 28,383 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 28.1% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 75,467 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $2,400,000 after buying an additional 16,574 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 13.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 15,254 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Halliburton by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,381 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of HAL opened at $34.57 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $34.25 and its 200 day moving average is $35.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $24.92 and a 12-month high of $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $28.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.83.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. Halliburton had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 18.36%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Halliburton's payout ratio is presently 28.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Halliburton from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 3rd. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Halliburton from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.86.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 118,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. This trade represents a 30.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

About Halliburton

Halliburton Company NYSE: HAL is a global provider of products and services for the energy industry. The company supports the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas through technologies and services used throughout the life cycle of a well.

Halliburton operates through two primary business segments: Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. Its offerings include cementing, stimulation, well completion, production enhancement, drilling services, drilling fluids, well testing, wireline and perforating services, formation evaluation, and project management.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.