Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by Oberweis Asset Management Inc.

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 275,888 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,826 shares during the period. Weatherford International accounts for 0.9% of Oberweis Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.38% of Weatherford International worth $19,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 295.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,945,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,894,000 after buying an additional 4,443,823 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,287,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,678,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 181.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,303,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,334,000 after purchasing an additional 840,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 132.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,166,000 after buying an additional 414,528 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Weatherford International Stock Up 5.5 %

Weatherford International stock traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.45. 907,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,500,677. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $36.74 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.43.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Neal P. Goldman bought 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $42.04 per share, for a total transaction of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,074.44. The trade was a 90.15 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 87,930 shares of company stock worth $5,861,718 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WFRD. Raymond James downgraded Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.75.

About Weatherford International

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.