Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Shares Acquired by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,378,416 shares of the oilfield services company's stock after buying an additional 25,470 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.27% of Halliburton worth $93,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in Halliburton by 443.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the oilfield services company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company's stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Halliburton stock traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.33. 7,791,226 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,090,833. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $32.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.00. Halliburton has a one year low of $27.84 and a one year high of $43.85.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Halliburton had a return on equity of 30.84% and a net margin of 11.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HAL shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Halliburton from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Halliburton from $46.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $13,308,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 759,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,793,229.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $176,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 759,015 shares in the company, valued at $26,793,229.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Halliburton

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.

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