American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 102,890 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,473,956 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after buying an additional 102,890 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.18% of Halliburton worth $36,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Halliburton during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Halliburton by 547.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Halliburton by 111.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Halliburton

In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total value of $5,985,152.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,101,243 shares in the company, valued at $38,499,455.28. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,538,550. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 328,148 shares of company stock valued at $11,199,000. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.19.

Halliburton Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $34.11 on Friday. Halliburton Company has a 1-year low of $18.72 and a 1-year high of $37.03. The company has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.30 and a 200-day moving average of $27.95.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.14. Halliburton had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 19.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.03%.

Halliburton Profile

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, offering a broad portfolio that supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs from exploration and drilling through production and abandonment. Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, the firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has developed into an integrated oilfield services company serving upstream operators globally.

The company’s activities encompass drilling and evaluation, well construction and completion, production enhancement and well intervention.