Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $1.58 Million Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFRD. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 33,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,420,000 after purchasing an additional 17,332 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,702,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,760,000 after buying an additional 270,775 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Weatherford International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,067,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 95,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,847,000 after acquiring an additional 4,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFRD. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.75.

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. This represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Arunava Mitra sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $675,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,835.04. This represents a 32.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $54.19 on Wednesday. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $51.24 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.26. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

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

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.