Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 57,239 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 181,646 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 57,239 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $4,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Halliburton by 18.8% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 16,500 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 3.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 216,544 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $5,327,000 after purchasing an additional 6,382 shares in the last quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter worth about $226,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Halliburton by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,669 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $27.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.87. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $18.72 and a 52 week high of $30.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.81.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 45.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HAL shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zephirin Group lifted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 8,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.89, for a total transaction of $246,938.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 333,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,302,095.92. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Richard sold 160,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.77, for a total value of $4,443,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 452,374 shares in the company, valued at $12,562,425.98. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Halliburton Company Profile

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.