Marshall Wace LLP Sells 24,720 Shares of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP)

Marshall Wace LLP cut its stake in Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,517 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 24,720 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Helmerich & Payne were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 61.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,386 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne during the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 82.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Helmerich & Payne by 817.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,046 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 2,714 shares during the last quarter. 96.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Helmerich & Payne

In related news, CEO John W. Lindsay acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.55 per share, for a total transaction of $551,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,042,945.70. The trade was a 2.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Belgacem Chariag acquired 37,356 shares of Helmerich & Payne stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.08 per share, with a total value of $1,011,600.48. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 54,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,730.48. This trade represents a 216.56 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HP shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Helmerich & Payne from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Helmerich & Payne Stock Performance

Shares of HP opened at $19.82 on Tuesday. Helmerich & Payne, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.82 and a 12 month high of $42.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Helmerich & Payne had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 11.31%. Research analysts forecast that Helmerich & Payne, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Helmerich & Payne Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Helmerich & Payne's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Helmerich & Payne Company Profile

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc (H&P) NYSE: HP is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders.

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