Jennison Associates LLC Has $112.44 Million Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 310,259 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $112,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Weatherford International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 142,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,135,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Weatherford International by 10.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 5.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 313,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,643,000 after purchasing an additional 16,435 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,289,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 13,750 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $82.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.24. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $77.00 and a 12-month 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.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFRD. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Raymond James cut their target price on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $147.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.