Creative Planning Has $554,000 Stock Position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Creative Planning lowered its stake in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 36.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,788 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFRD. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,722,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,240,000 after purchasing an additional 439,700 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,287,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 5,525.3% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 359,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 353,177 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 89.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 612,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,969,000 after purchasing an additional 288,290 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Weatherford International in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 6,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $521,565.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,680 shares in the company, valued at $932,764.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFRD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $154.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.88.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD stock opened at $81.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Weatherford International plc has a 1 year low of $77.00 and a 1 year high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 46.25% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Weatherford International plc will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is 14.04%.

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.