Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,672 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 756,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,672 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.04% of Weatherford International worth $54,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in Weatherford International by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Weatherford International during the 4th quarter valued at about $546,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Weatherford International by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 719,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,516,000 after purchasing an additional 109,783 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Weatherford International by 11,606.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Weatherford International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 208,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,959,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Benchmark reduced their price target on Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Weatherford International from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Weatherford International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.63.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD opened at $51.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Weatherford International plc has a one year low of $51.24 and a one year high of $135.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.06 and a 200 day moving average of $78.51.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Weatherford International plc will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Weatherford International

In other news, EVP David John Reed sold 4,762 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,179.94. This represents a 30.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $2,944,895.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,272,507.23. This trade represents a 26.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 92,692 shares of company stock valued at $6,207,725. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.