American Century Companies Inc. Buys 63,775 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 280,510 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 63,775 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of Weatherford International worth $20,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 360 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Weatherford International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Weatherford International by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFRD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Weatherford International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $132.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on Weatherford International from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Weatherford International from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Weatherford International from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $140.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Desmond J. Mills sold 19,425 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 17,899 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,361.49. This represents a 52.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Scott C. Weatherholt sold 44,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $2,944,895.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 125,019 shares in the company, valued at $8,272,507.23. The trade was a 26.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,692 shares of company stock worth $6,207,725. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

Shares of WFRD stock opened at $53.10 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Weatherford International plc has a 52 week low of $51.24 and a 52 week high of $135.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.09 and a 200-day moving average of $74.78. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.61.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 40.65%. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.88%.

Weatherford International Company 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.