The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Holdings in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 30.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,251 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of Weatherford International worth $7,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Weatherford International by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,599,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,152,000 after acquiring an additional 53,017 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,409,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,730,000 after purchasing an additional 182,120 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International by 19.3% during 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 last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Weatherford International by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 657,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,566,000 after purchasing an additional 38,700 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Weatherford International by 33.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 631,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,372,000 after purchasing an additional 156,756 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Weatherford International

In other Weatherford International news, EVP David John Reed sold 6,805 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.96, for a total value of $639,397.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WFRD shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Weatherford International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Weatherford International from $161.00 to $158.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $155.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Weatherford International from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $150.75.

Weatherford International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $91.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.08. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.58. Weatherford International plc has a twelve month low of $82.16 and a twelve month high of $135.00.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.08). Weatherford International had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 49.69%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Weatherford International’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Weatherford International’s payout ratio is presently 16.18%.

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.