Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) EVP Sells $2,944,895.85 in Stock

Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $62.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.43 and its 200 day moving average is $88.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $61.97 and a 1 year high of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Institutional Trading of Weatherford International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 11,606.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 208,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,959,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Weatherford International by 643.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,785,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 917,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,723,000 after purchasing an additional 204,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.25.

About Weatherford International

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.