Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 38,677 Shares of Weatherford International PLC $WFRD

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its stake in Weatherford International PLC (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 29.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,677 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.13% of Weatherford International worth $4,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFRD. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Weatherford International in the first quarter valued at $522,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Weatherford International by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 51,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the first quarter worth about $2,356,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Weatherford International during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,790,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Weatherford International by 47.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 414,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,188,000 after buying an additional 133,828 shares during the last quarter. 97.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WFRD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Weatherford International from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Weatherford International from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Weatherford International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of Weatherford International in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Weatherford International Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:WFRD opened at $77.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.55. Weatherford International PLC has a 1-year low of $36.74 and a 1-year high of $81.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.46 and a 200 day moving average of $61.18. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.79.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.03). Weatherford International had a net margin of 8.15% and a return on equity of 28.28%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Weatherford International PLC will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weatherford International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 6th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Weatherford International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.12%.

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.