Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Makes New $2.61 Million Investment in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 30,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,609,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Weatherford International during the 1st quarter worth about $471,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,190,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 63,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 4,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,132,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,764.80. The trade was a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ WFRD opened at $81.99 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.28. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $77.00 and a 12-month high of $135.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.60.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released 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. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Research analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WFRD shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.29.

Weatherford International Company 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.