Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Shares Sold by Marietta Wealth Management LLC

Marietta Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,382 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 1,073 shares during the quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $4,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HAL. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Halliburton by 259.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 166,407 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $6,281,000 after purchasing an additional 120,122 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 70.5% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 128,001 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $4,847,000 after purchasing an additional 52,933 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Halliburton during the first quarter worth $696,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 81.5% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,347 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Halliburton by 83.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,384 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL traded down $0.73 on Tuesday, hitting $38.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,779,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,119,316. The company has a market capitalization of $34.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.06. Halliburton has a 12 month low of $27.84 and a 12 month high of $43.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.42.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 31.59%. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Halliburton’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Halliburton’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 23.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $176,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 759,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,793,229.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $176,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $339,762.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HAL. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Halliburton from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Halliburton from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.53.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.