Halliburton Company $HAL Shares Sold by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its stake in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 172,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 172,720 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $4,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HAL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Halliburton by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,929,285 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $145,860,000 after acquiring an additional 96,394 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,775,000. Tejara Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 134,365 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 66,765 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 12.8% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,645,526 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $40,480,000 after purchasing an additional 186,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 4.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,474,135 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $36,264,000 after purchasing an additional 59,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on HAL. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Capital One Financial lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC set a $30.00 price target on shares of Halliburton and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 54,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $1,900,006.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 344,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,044,943.60. This trade represents a 13.63% 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, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $5,985,152.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,101,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,499,455.28. The trade was a 13.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $34.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.77. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $35.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.36.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.77% and a net margin of 5.78%.The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.03%.

Halliburton Company Profile

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.