Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 204,331 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Halliburton by 35.2% in Q4, selling 204,331 shares and leaving 376,083 shares valued at about $10.63 million.
• Corporate insiders sold sizeable stock recently—total insider sales of 202,140 shares (~$7.94 million) last quarter, including notable sales by a director and an EVP, which could weigh on sentiment despite some pre‑arranged plans.
• Halliburton narrowly beat estimates in the latest quarter (EPS $0.55 vs $0.50; revenue $5.40B vs $5.37B) while revenue was down 0.3% YoY; the stock trades near $41.69, carries a 1.6% yield, and has an average analyst price target of about $41.09 with a consensus of "Moderate Buy."

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 35.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,083 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 204,331 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Halliburton were worth $10,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth $1,054,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $145,860,000 after acquiring an additional 96,394 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth $1,775,000. Tejara Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 98.8% during the third quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Halliburton by 12.8% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $40,480,000 after purchasing an additional 186,105 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE HAL opened at $41.69 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $37.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $19.22 and a 12 month high of $42.46.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $636,230. This represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 19,618 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total transaction of $663,480.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,652,173.70. The trade was a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 202,140 shares of company stock worth $7,936,927 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Key Halliburton News

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Macro demand outlook — Oil‑service firms are positioning for a boom as global oil investment and producer activity pick up, which should lift equipment and services demand for Halliburton. Swashbuckling oil-services firms are preparing for a boom
• Positive Sentiment: Customer pull — Halliburton executives say smaller operators are "vacuuming up" idle equipment, implying increased utilization and potential revenue pickup for service providers. Halliburton executives: Smaller operators vacuuming up equipment slack
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/TV support — Media and commentators (including Jim Cramer) are publicly positive on HAL as a cyclical play that has held up, which can support short‑term demand for the stock. Jim Cramer on Halliburton: “It’s Been a Good Stock Even in a Bad Oil Market”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent results mixed — Last quarter HAL narrowly beat EPS and revenue estimates but showed modest year‑over‑year revenue decline; beats help sentiment but leave limited upside without stronger growth. MarketBeat HAL profile / recent earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy-market divergence — Global gas tightness versus a US glut creates uneven activity across regions and basins; this mixed market backdrop could mute uniform upside for service companies. While Asia and Europe scramble for natural gas, the US glut has nowhere to go
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — VP Timothy McKeon sold 8,655 shares (under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan, which lowers interpretive weight), and director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares (a ~28.7% cut to her holdings). Insider sales can sap sentiment even if some are pre‑arranged. McKeon Form 4 Young Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation/caution — Commentary that the recent rally "leaves little room for error" and other cautionary takes increase downside risk if growth disappoints or macro conditions shift. Halliburton: Recent Rally Leaves Little Room For Error

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HAL shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Griffin Securities raised shares of Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zephirin Group upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Halliburton from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Halliburton has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.09.

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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