Halliburton Company $HAL Stock Holdings Lessened by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc cut its stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 489,910 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 123,115 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.06% of Halliburton worth $12,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Halliburton during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $109,379,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 85.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,610,870 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $175,490,000 after buying an additional 3,969,759 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 762.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,265,132 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $66,543,000 after buying an additional 2,886,666 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 23.1% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,154,605 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $249,803,000 after buying an additional 1,906,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Halliburton by 37.7% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 6,625,668 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $135,031,000 after buying an additional 1,814,649 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Halliburton stock opened at $35.32 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.88. Halliburton Company has a 1 year low of $18.72 and a 1 year high of $35.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $29.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.39, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Halliburton’s payout ratio is 45.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HAL. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Halliburton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.96, for a total transaction of $5,985,152.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,101,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,499,455.28. The trade was a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $3,225,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,538,550. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.