42,427 Shares in Halliburton Company $HAL Purchased by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 42,427 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 82,596.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 29,771,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $841,339,000 after buying an additional 29,735,387 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Halliburton by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 110,220,971 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $3,114,848,000 after acquiring an additional 19,190,520 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at about $169,304,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Halliburton by 12,413.2% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,163,259 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $162,325,000 after acquiring an additional 4,129,988 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 1st quarter worth about $158,525,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total transaction of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 148,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. This trade represents a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,230. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of HAL opened at $32.14 on Tuesday. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $20.39 and a 52 week high of $43.59. The firm has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Capital One Financial boosted their price target on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Freedom Capital raised Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.10.

About Halliburton

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.