Blue Trust Inc. Cuts Holdings in NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its position in shares of NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,906 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 1,953 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in NOV were worth $57,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in NOV by 222.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of NOV during the third quarter worth about $36,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NOV in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NOV by 1,590.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 2,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of NOV during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. 93.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NOV Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NOV opened at $14.98 on Wednesday. NOV Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.94 and a 12-month high of $21.20. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.82.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.06. NOV had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 9.88%. Equities research analysts expect that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

NOV Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. NOV’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of NOV from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of NOV from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on NOV from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of NOV in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NOV currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.60.

About NOV

NOV Inc designs, constructs, manufactures, and sells systems, components, and products for oil and gas drilling and production, and industrial and renewable energy sectors in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Energy Equipment, and Energy Products and Services. The company provides solids control and waste management equipment and services, managed pressure drilling, drilling fluids, premium drillpipe, wired pipe, drilling optimization services, tubular inspection and coating services, instrumentation, downhole tools, and drill bits.