Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 260,700 Halliburton Company $HAL

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 260,700 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,851,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised 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 purchasing an additional 29,735,387 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Halliburton by 21.1% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 19,190,520 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 2nd quarter valued at about $337,486,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at about $169,304,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Halliburton by 12,413.2% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,163,259 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $162,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,129,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

Shares of HAL stock opened at $34.44 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.42 and its 200-day moving average is $36.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.73. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $20.78 and a 52 week high of $43.59.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Halliburton had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 7.16%.The company had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halliburton news, CFO Eric Carre sold 24,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.89, for a total value of $889,282.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 148,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,330,382.80. The trade was a 14.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Freedom Capital raised Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Capital One Financial increased their target price on Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Argus decreased their price target on Halliburton from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.