Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 15,808 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its holdings in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,798 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after selling 15,808 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 280.9% in the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 759,684 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $20,656,000 after purchasing an additional 560,229 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at $41,484,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,462,365 shares of the oilfield services company's stock worth $39,762,000 after acquiring an additional 360,523 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth about $431,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Halliburton by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,184,850 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $249,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 3,900 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.04, for a total value of $93,756.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $253,646.04. The trade was a 26.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 127,101 shares in the company, valued at $3,321,149.13. The trade was a 52.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 206,782 shares of company stock worth $5,321,170. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Up 0.7 %

Halliburton stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,806,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,351,489. Halliburton has a 52-week low of $18.72 and a 52-week high of $38.35. The company has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.54 and its 200 day moving average is $26.14.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The oilfield services company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60. Halliburton had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 26.03%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.28 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Halliburton will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Halliburton's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HAL shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Halliburton from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Halliburton from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Halliburton from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.84.

Halliburton Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.