Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Sold by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,956,578 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 875,180 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.19% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $53,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Blackstone Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $483,016,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,194,132 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $597,807,000 after purchasing an additional 18,495,822 shares in the last quarter. Cerberus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $188,486,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 21,195.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,655,391 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $161,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 397.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,882,977 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $81,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,699,682 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PTEN. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,473,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,011,093.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of PTEN stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $10.68. 6,862,023 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,065,444. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $11.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 2.23. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.70 and a twelve month high of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 7.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Drilling Products. The Contract Drilling Services segment provides contract and directional drilling services in onshore oil and natural gas basins, as well as engages in the service and re-certification of equipment for drilling contractors, and provision of electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries.