National Pension Service Sells 96,350 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

National Pension Service decreased its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 5.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,811,428 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 96,350 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $61,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HAL opened at $35.88 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.39 and its 200 day moving average is $36.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $21.46 and a 12-month high of $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $29.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.76.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The business had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, COO Jeffrey Slocum sold 52,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $1,844,751.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 118,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,166,235.70. This trade represents a 30.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HAL shares. Argus lowered their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.10.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) is a global provider of products and services for the energy industry. The company supports oil and natural gas exploration, development and production across the life cycle of a well, serving both independent and national oil companies.

Halliburton operates through two principal business segments: Completion and Production, which provides cementing, stimulation, intervention and completion services; and Drilling and Evaluation, which offers drilling services, formation evaluation, well construction, project management and related technologies.