Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 13,552,927 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 17,317.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,631,188 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,552,927 shares during the quarter. Halliburton makes up about 1.0% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $460,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 2.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 14,027 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 18,325 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 3.1% during the second quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc now owns 10,847 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Halliburton by 2.9% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 11,842 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $29.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $27.52 and a 12-month high of $43.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.48 and its 200-day moving average is $34.84.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The oilfield services company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. The firm had revenue of $5.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 29.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Halliburton will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.17.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total transaction of $367,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 273,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,066,119. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Halliburton Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.