Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Halliburton Company $HAL

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Halliburton by 3.4% in Q4, selling 3,551,883 shares and finishing the quarter with 101,025,255 shares — roughly a 12.0% ownership worth about $2.85 billion.
• Halliburton reported quarterly EPS of $0.55 vs. $0.50 consensus and revenue of $5.40 billion vs. $5.37 billion estimated (revenue down 0.3% YoY); the company has a market cap of $34.04 billion and a 52‑week range of $19.22–$41.18.
• Institutional activity was heavy: Capital Research boosted its stake 81.8% to 91,030,451 shares while firms like Strive Asset Management and Holocene Advisors established sizable positions, leaving institutions owning about 85.23% of the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 101,025,255 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 3,551,883 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.00% of Halliburton worth $2,854,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 9.4% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 26,004,682 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $639,715,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238,983 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth about $418,738,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 85.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,610,870 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $175,490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the third quarter valued at approximately $147,315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $40.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $19.22 and a 52 week high of $41.18. The business's 50 day moving average price is $37.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.86. The firm has a market cap of $34.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.68.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The business had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halliburton news, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 5,441 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $184,014.62. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 187,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,338,645.86. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 158,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $6,338,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,013,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,521,080. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,360 shares of company stock worth $7,317,882. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HAL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Halliburton from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Argus upped their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore upgraded Halliburton from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Halliburton from $29.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.09.

About Halliburton

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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