NOV Inc. $NOV Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group cut its stake in NOV by 2.8%, selling 1,075,109 shares and now holds 37,366,273 shares (about 10.24% of the company, valued at $584.0M), while institutional investors own roughly 93.27% of the stock.
• Insiders Craig L. Weinstock and Joseph W. Rovig sold 70,000 and 151,086 shares respectively in February, reducing their positions by about 21.45% and 35.91%.
• NOV missed EPS for the quarter ($0.05 vs. $0.17 expected) with revenue roughly flat; analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" and a $19.29 price target, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09 (1.8% yield).

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,366,273 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 1,075,109 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.24% of NOV worth $584,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NOV by 401.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,165,518 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $39,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534,815 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NOV by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,596,504 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $100,654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304,975 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of NOV during the 3rd quarter worth $14,114,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NOV by 361.8% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,252,182 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $16,591,000 after purchasing an additional 981,028 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NOV by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,008,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $92,860,000 after purchasing an additional 917,242 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOV. TD Cowen upgraded NOV from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus raised NOV to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of NOV stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 256,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. This trade represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of NOV stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total value of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 269,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,439,727.98. The trade was a 35.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

NOV Stock Performance

NYSE NOV opened at $19.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.11 and a beta of 0.92. NOV Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.65 and a 1-year high of $20.93.

NOV (NYSE:NOV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.05 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.05% and a return on equity of 3.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NOV Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from NOV's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. NOV's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.00%.

NOV Profile

National Oilwell Varco NYSE: NOV is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV's business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.

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