Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,928 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,215 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.23% of Weatherford International worth $11,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 130.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Weatherford International by 643.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total transaction of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Weatherford International stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.97. 2,183,131 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,092,025. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $53.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.01. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $36.74 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.10. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.88%.

Weatherford International Profile

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.