Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 34,784 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 989,968 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,784 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $28,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 81.8% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 91,030,451 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,239,349,000 after acquiring an additional 40,969,139 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the third quarter valued at $418,738,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 3rd quarter valued at $147,315,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 85.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,610,870 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $175,490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969,759 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 163.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 4,992,111 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $122,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,037 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $39.65 on Friday. Halliburton Company has a 52-week low of $19.22 and a 52-week high of $41.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.61 and a 200-day moving average of $31.40. The company has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 3,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.37, for a total transaction of $132,187.02. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 81,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,805,657.47. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 5,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.82, for a total value of $184,014.62. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 187,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,338,645.86. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 189,960 shares of company stock worth $7,406,724. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC lifted their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Halliburton from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.73.

About Halliburton

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.