Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 5,129 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,325,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,129 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.82% of Weatherford International worth $112,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WFRD. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Weatherford International by 364.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Weatherford International by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Weatherford International during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Weatherford International in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $71.62 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.68. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $71.13 and a one year high of $135.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Weatherford International presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $140.50.

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.