Sanders Capital LLC Has $639.72 Million Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Halliburton by 9.4% in the quarter to 26,004,682 shares—owning 3.09% of the company valued at approximately $639.72 million at quarter end.
• Halliburton beat quarterly estimates with EPS $0.69 vs. $0.55 and revenue of $5.66 billion vs. $5.39 billion, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share (annualized $0.68, ~2.0% yield).
• Corporate insiders have been net sellers recently, offloading 331,994 shares (~$11.33 million) in the last three months, including an EVP sale of 100,000 shares.

Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,004,682 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after buying an additional 2,238,983 shares during the quarter. Sanders Capital LLC owned 3.09% of Halliburton worth $639,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 5,370 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 3.6% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,320 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Halliburton by 22.2% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,369 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in Halliburton by 0.9% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 51,508 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Halliburton by 7.3% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 7,374 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $33.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.42. Halliburton Company has a 52-week low of $18.72 and a 52-week high of $37.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total value of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 419,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.17, for a total value of $88,842.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,849.31. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 331,994 shares of company stock valued at $11,331,187. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on HAL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Halliburton from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.38.

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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