Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Buys Shares of 82,440 Halliburton Company $HAL

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 82,440 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,214,000. Halliburton accounts for about 1.5% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HAL. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Halliburton by 82,596.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $841,339,000 after buying an additional 29,735,387 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $3,114,848,000 after acquiring an additional 19,190,520 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,304,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 12,413.2% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,163,259 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $162,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,129,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in Halliburton in the first quarter valued at $158,525,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HAL. Piper Sandler upgraded Halliburton from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $43.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Capital One Financial boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.10.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.1%

HAL opened at $31.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Halliburton Company has a twelve month low of $20.39 and a twelve month high of $43.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.49.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.60%.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,927,732.07. This represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. This represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 243,475 shares of company stock valued at $9,931,490 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.