Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 100,723 Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 100,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,215,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Weatherford International at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 190.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock traded up $1.78 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 369,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,735. The firm's 50-day moving average is $51.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.43. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $36.74 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International's payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, Director Neal P. Goldman purchased 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.04 per share, with a total value of $504,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,311 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,074.44. This trade represents a 90.15 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. The trade was a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock worth $5,861,718 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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