National Pension Service Sells 96,350 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• National Pension Service reduced its Halliburton stake by 5.1%, selling 96,350 shares and retaining 1.81 million shares valued at approximately $61.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.23% of the company.
• Halliburton reported quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $5.71 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.10.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, equivalent to $0.68 annually and a 1.9% yield; meanwhile, Halliburton’s CFO and COO sold shares through pre-arranged trading plans.

National Pension Service lowered its stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,811,428 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 96,350 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of Halliburton worth $61,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HAL. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Halliburton by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $3,114,848,000 after buying an additional 19,190,520 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,812,327,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Halliburton by 2,886.3% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 82,808,973 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $2,811,365,000 after acquiring an additional 80,036,032 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Halliburton by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 50,825,761 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $1,436,336,000 after purchasing an additional 861,964 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Halliburton by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,097,164 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $878,806,000 after purchasing an additional 443,064 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $35.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.76. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $34.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.70. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $21.46 and a 12 month high of $43.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 118,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,166,235.70. This represents a 30.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $37.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler raised Halliburton from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.10.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company NYSE: HAL is a global provider of products and services for the energy industry. The company supports oil and natural gas exploration, development and production across the life cycle of a well, serving both independent and national oil companies.

Halliburton operates through two principal business segments: Completion and Production, which provides cementing, stimulation, intervention and completion services; and Drilling and Evaluation, which offers drilling services, formation evaluation, well construction, project management and related technologies.

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