Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,124 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,047 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Weatherford International worth $3,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 87,930 shares of company stock worth $5,861,718. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Trading Up 3.1 %

Weatherford International stock opened at $42.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.01. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $36.74 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.70.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. Research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Raymond James cut shares of Weatherford International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.75.

Weatherford International Company 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.