Halliburton Company $HAL Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 5.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 764,377 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 43,330 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $18,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Halliburton by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,363,599 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $2,147,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617,696 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Halliburton by 1.2% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,287,989 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $617,269,000 after purchasing an additional 346,218 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Halliburton by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,342,963 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $453,461,000 after purchasing an additional 92,549 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at about $418,738,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 10.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,903,833 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $242,600,000 after buying an additional 1,089,928 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $35.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04. Halliburton Company has a one year low of $18.72 and a one year high of $37.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.67.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.03%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $5,985,152.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at $38,499,455.28. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,044,943.60. The trade was a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Halliburton from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.19.

About Halliburton

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, offering a broad portfolio that supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs from exploration and drilling through production and abandonment. Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, the firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has developed into an integrated oilfield services company serving upstream operators globally.

The company’s activities encompass drilling and evaluation, well construction and completion, production enhancement and well intervention.