Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 153,975 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 757,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153,975 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.04% of Weatherford International worth $64,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Weatherford International by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Weatherford International by 50.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 20.7% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 10.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 26.7% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other Weatherford International news, 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 value of $639,397.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of Weatherford International 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 35.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Weatherford International Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Weatherford International stock opened at $82.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.41. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Weatherford International’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. 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.