Prudential PLC Sells 60,582 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Prudential PLC cut its Halliburton stake by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 60,582 shares and leaving it with 421,655 shares valued at about $11.9 million.
• Halliburton’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $0.55 versus the $0.50 consensus and revenue of $5.40 billion, slightly ahead of forecasts.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, payable June 24, which equals an annualized yield of 1.7%.

Prudential PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 421,655 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 60,582 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC owned approximately 0.05% of Halliburton worth $11,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HAL. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 81.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $2,239,349,000 after acquiring an additional 40,969,139 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 82,596.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $841,339,000 after acquiring an additional 29,735,387 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter worth $418,738,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth $169,304,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter worth $147,315,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $39.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Halliburton Company has a 1 year low of $20.09 and a 1 year high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton's payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In related news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. The trade was a 17.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total value of $255,535.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,230. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 416,991 shares of company stock worth $16,846,948 in the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on HAL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zephirin Group boosted their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.27.

Halliburton Company 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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