MQS Management LLC Invests $846,000 in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 33,365 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $846,000. Halliburton comprises approximately 0.5% of MQS Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 84,675 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 42,683 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 17,060 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in Halliburton by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 38,733 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 17,835 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Up 4.1%

HAL stock traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,170,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,565,691. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.13. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $18.72 and a 12 month high of $37.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.60.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.60. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 24.01%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is 28.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Halliburton from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Halliburton from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Halliburton from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Halliburton to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Halliburton from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.53.

About Halliburton

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.