South Dakota Investment Council Cuts Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 764,377 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 43,330 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned about 0.09% of Halliburton worth $18,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Halliburton by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 6,507 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Halliburton by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,341 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 20,583 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Halliburton by 25.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Halliburton by 309.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 52,092 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the first quarter worth about $895,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 171,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $38,499,455.28. This represents a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lawrence J. Pope sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $3,225,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 419,800 shares in the company, valued at $13,538,550. This represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 337,002 shares of company stock worth $11,445,938 in the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Halliburton Price Performance

Halliburton stock opened at $35.96 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $32.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.67. The stock has a market cap of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton Company has a 12-month low of $18.72 and a 12-month high of $37.03.

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

Halliburton Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 45.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zephirin Group cut shares of Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Halliburton from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Halliburton currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.19.

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.