Man Group plc Acquires 14,126 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Man Group plc boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 91.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,541 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,126 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in Weatherford International were worth $2,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock worth $551,760,000 after buying an additional 270,775 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 295.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock worth $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,402,833 shares of the company's stock worth $315,375,000 after buying an additional 298,811 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,638,934 shares of the company's stock worth $260,657,000 after buying an additional 65,931 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,777,128 shares of the company's stock worth $198,877,000 after buying an additional 144,396 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Neal P. Goldman acquired 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.63.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of WFRD traded up $0.53 on Tuesday, hitting $46.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 822,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,161,666. Weatherford International plc has a fifty-two week low of $36.74 and a fifty-two week high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.00%.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.