Argent Trust Co Lowers Stock Position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Argent Trust Co trimmed its stake in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,116 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton during the second quarter worth $2,357,000. GDS Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 309,147 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $10,443,000 after buying an additional 31,389 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Halliburton by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 35,163 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,087,115 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $340,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,620 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Halliburton by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 737,569 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $24,915,000 after acquiring an additional 171,111 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Stock Performance

Shares of HAL opened at $29.53 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.88. The firm has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.89. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $27.52 and a 12-month high of $43.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The oilfield services company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 29.97%. The company had revenue of $5.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Halliburton’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Halliburton will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HAL. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Dbs Bank began coverage on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Halliburton from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halliburton presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total value of $367,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 273,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,066,119. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.