BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 237,638 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 56.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 180,205 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 237,638 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $6,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Halliburton by 13.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,825,263 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $95,437,000 after buying an additional 342,033 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Halliburton by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 351,877 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $11,886,000 after acquiring an additional 39,250 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,983 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the second quarter valued at $352,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Halliburton in the second quarter worth $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE HAL opened at $31.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Halliburton has a 12-month low of $30.31 and a 12-month high of $43.85.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The oilfield services company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80. Halliburton had a return on equity of 29.97% and a net margin of 11.61%. The company had revenue of $5.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total value of $367,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 273,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,066,119. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HAL. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Halliburton from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.88.

Halliburton Profile

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.