Wedbush Securities Inc. Has $471,000 Stock Position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Wedbush Securities Inc. cut its stake in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,329 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 1,483 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Horrell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Halliburton by 101.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blume Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total transaction of $3,689,712.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 127,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,321,149.13. This represents a 52.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 10,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total transaction of $258,226.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 77,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,486.40. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 206,782 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,170. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Trading Down 4.1 %

HAL opened at $19.18 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.58. The firm has a market cap of $16.53 billion, a PE ratio of 6.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.45. Halliburton has a twelve month low of $18.72 and a twelve month high of $41.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HAL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lowered shares of Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Halliburton from $39.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Griffin Securities cut Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.37.

About Halliburton

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.