Polianta Ltd Acquires New Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Polianta Ltd opened a new position in Halliburton during Q1, buying 44,000 shares valued at about $1.715 million. The stock now represents 0.2% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Halliburton insiders have been selling shares recently, including CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller’s sale of 158,455 shares and another insider sale by Michael Casey Maxwell. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 391,932 shares worth nearly $16 million.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.55 versus $0.50 expected, and it also announced a $0.17 quarterly dividend. Analysts remain mostly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $43.27.

Polianta Ltd bought a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 44,000 shares of the oilfield services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,715,000. Halliburton comprises 0.2% of Polianta Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at $25,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 158,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $6,338,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,013,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,521,080. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total transaction of $852,377.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 93,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 391,932 shares of company stock worth $15,999,453. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of HAL opened at $34.93 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $39.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.39. Halliburton Company has a twelve month low of $20.09 and a twelve month high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's payout ratio is currently 37.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus increased their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Halliburton in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Zephirin Group raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.27.

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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