Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) Stock Holdings Lessened by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 16.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 267,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,501 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $22,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFRD. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,573,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,419,000 after buying an additional 959,783 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Weatherford International by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,267,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,555,000 after acquiring an additional 68,553 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 551.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,440,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,356,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,553 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Weatherford International by 30.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,324,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,443,000 after acquiring an additional 310,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,566,000 after purchasing an additional 38,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In related news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.66, for a total value of $346,006.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,179.94. The trade was a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $147.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.25.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $72.13 on Thursday. Weatherford International plc has a 12 month low of $66.23 and a 12 month high of $135.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.90.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its 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 net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 46.25%. 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 company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is 14.04%.

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.