Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,672 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.30% of Weatherford International worth $21,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,430,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Weatherford International by 1,261.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 381,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,425,000 after acquiring an additional 353,100 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Weatherford International by 101.1% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 656,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,309,000 after acquiring an additional 330,133 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 1,564.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 281,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,398,000 after acquiring an additional 264,284 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Weatherford International by 28.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,092,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,710,000 after buying an additional 238,806 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFRD has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $143.75.

Weatherford International Stock Up 3.5 %

WFRD stock opened at $127.97 on Friday. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $55.81 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.80.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 52.88%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total transaction of $4,001,404.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,365,629.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Weatherford International news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 40,455 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.91, for a total value of $4,001,404.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,365,629.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total transaction of $6,214,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,213,915.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 145,455 shares of company stock valued at $14,863,464. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International 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.