Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,054,860 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,132,530 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,054,860 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.57% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $372,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,146,750 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,472,000 after acquiring an additional 265,714 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 60,900 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,477,000 after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.56 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.03 and a 12-month high of $12.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.21.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.54.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Drilling Products. The Contract Drilling Services segment provides contract and directional drilling services in onshore oil and natural gas basins, as well as engages in the service and re-certification of equipment for drilling contractors, and provision of electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries.