Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 2,361 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,987 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,361 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 643.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Depinder Sandhu sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.41, for a total value of $929,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $590,517.72. This represents a 61.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFRD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $54.19 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $51.24 and a twelve month high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.88%.

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.