Boston Partners Has $198.88 Million Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,777,128 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,396 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 3.82% of Weatherford International worth $198,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 500,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,815,000 after buying an additional 43,182 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at $7,189,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 123.4% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 5,239 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Weatherford International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 143,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,308,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Weatherford International by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 30.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of Weatherford International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $1,311,381.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WFRD shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

WFRD stock opened at $53.67 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. Weatherford International plc has a 1-year low of $51.24 and a 1-year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.30). Weatherford International had a return on equity of 40.65% and a net margin of 9.18%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

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.