Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 20,200 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Meyer Handelman Co. reduced its holdings in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 235,599 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 20,200 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings in Halliburton were worth $5,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HAL. PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in Halliburton by 80.0% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 17,484 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 7,768 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,000 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Halliburton by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 83,077 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 3,287 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Halliburton by 237.2% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 22,639 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 15,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth about $439,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Stock Up 2.1%

HAL stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $20.00. 15,250,862 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,885,614. The firm's 50-day moving average is $21.21 and its 200-day moving average is $25.24. The company has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $18.72 and a 12 month high of $37.08.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.28 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 26.03% and a net margin of 10.90%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $258,226.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 77,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,486.40. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 51,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $1,279,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 127,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,177,525. This trade represents a 28.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,576 shares of company stock worth $1,631,457. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Halliburton from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Halliburton from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Halliburton from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Halliburton from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Halliburton from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.53.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.