Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Position Raised by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,638,934 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,931 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 5.01% of Weatherford International worth $260,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth about $65,678,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,266 shares of the company's stock worth $52,166,000 after acquiring an additional 414,528 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $551,760,000 after purchasing an additional 270,775 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,703,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Weatherford International by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 506,292 shares of the company's stock worth $36,266,000 after purchasing an additional 227,342 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFRD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $97.00 to $73.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.75.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.9 %

WFRD stock traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $46.01. 281,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,047. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $36.74 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. On average, research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International's payout ratio is 14.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $675,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares in the company, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock valued at $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Company Profile

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.