Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 742,312 Shares of NOV Inc. $NOV

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,441,382 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 742,312 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.54% of NOV worth $509,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOV. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in NOV during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of NOV by 114.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,109 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NOV by 395.3% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,660 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of NOV by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,083 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in NOV in the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NOV Price Performance

NYSE NOV opened at $20.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.07 and a beta of 0.93. NOV Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.84 and a 1-year high of $20.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $17.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.37.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.23). NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This is a boost from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.95%.

Key NOV News

Here are the key news stories impacting NOV this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NOV raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09 (from $0.08), payable Mar 27 with an ex?dividend date Mar 13 — a modest income boost that can support the share price and attract yield?seeking investors. MarketBeat: NOV dividend & stock summary
• Positive Sentiment: Selective institutional buying was reported in Q4 (notably Price T. Rowe adding a large position), which can underpin demand even as other funds trim exposure. QuiverQuant: NOV institutional activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed but provides valuation context — recent price targets cluster around ~$20 (median ~$20), so upgrades/maintains may stabilize trading even if upside is limited. MarketBeat: analyst ratings & targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 revenue ran about $2.28–2.30B (down ~1.3% YoY) — not a large deterioration but consistent with a cautious near?term backdrop for drilling activity. QuiverQuant: NOV financials & activity
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: President Joseph W. Rovig sold ~151,086 shares (~$3.05M) and VP/Sr. VP Craig Weinstock sold ~70,000 shares (plus an earlier 10,495?share sale). These sizable, contemporaneous insider dispositions are typically read negatively by the market and likely pressured the stock. SEC filing: Rovig sale InsiderTrades: Weinstock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and earnings concerns linger — NOV missed Q4 EPS expectations earlier this month and analysts highlight softer drilling activity, cautious M&A posture and offshore/wind uncertainty, which can cap near?term upside. Zacks: analyst commentary on Q4 weakness

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on NOV shares. Barclays upgraded shares of NOV from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NOV in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on NOV in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 price target on NOV in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NOV has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 256,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. This trade represents a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total transaction of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 269,694 shares in the company, valued at $5,439,727.98. The trade was a 35.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 2.08% of the company’s stock.

NOV Profile

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.