Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,646 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 3,664 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in Halliburton by 443.8% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Halliburton Stock Performance

NYSE:HAL opened at $37.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $32.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.07. Halliburton has a twelve month low of $27.84 and a twelve month high of $43.85.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Halliburton had a return on equity of 30.84% and a net margin of 11.20%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Halliburton news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $176,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $13,308,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 759,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,793,229.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $176,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Halliburton from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Halliburton from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.59.

Halliburton Company 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.