Halliburton Company $HAL Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in Halliburton by 23.8% in Q3, selling 204,498 shares and reducing its holding to 653,411 shares (about 0.08% of the company) worth roughly $16.1 million.
• Halliburton beat estimates for the quarter with EPS of $0.69 versus $0.55 expected and revenue of $5.66 billion versus $5.39 billion expected, sending the stock up about 2% on the session.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share (annualized $0.68, ~1.9% yield; ex-dividend March 4, payable March 25), while insiders sold 331,994 shares last quarter totaling about $11.33 million.

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 23.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 653,411 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 204,498 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of Halliburton worth $16,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HAL. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Halliburton by 547.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Halliburton by 111.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $35.34 on Wednesday. Halliburton Company has a fifty-two week low of $18.72 and a fifty-two week high of $37.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $33.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.24. The company has a market cap of $29.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Halliburton's payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total value of $132,187.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 81,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,805,657.47. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 331,994 shares of company stock worth $11,331,187. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Halliburton from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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