Wells Fargo & Company MN Lowers Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD - Free Report) by 72.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,823 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,812 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN's holdings in Weatherford International were worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Weatherford International in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,184,000. Cynosure Group LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 13,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $481,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 190.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 50,508 shares of the company's stock worth $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 19,785 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Raymond James cut shares of Weatherford International from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.75.

Weatherford International Price Performance

Weatherford International stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,382,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,146,217. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $48.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.47. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $36.74 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

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

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Weatherford International's payout ratio is presently 16.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. The trade was a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,835.04. This trade represents a 32.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,425 shares of company stock worth $2,916,822. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Weatherford International 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.