Bridgewater Associates LP Trims Stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 87.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,990 shares of the company’s stock after selling 118,762 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $1,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 1st quarter worth $2,132,000. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 119.7% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 881 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Weatherford International by 74.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ WFRD opened at $82.30 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.27. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. Weatherford International plc has a 12-month low of $77.00 and a 12-month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for 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 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 research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $932,764.80. This represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total transaction of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Weatherford International

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.