Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lessened its position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 416,175 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 12,300 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $15,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Halliburton by 443.8% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV boosted its holdings in Halliburton by 1,134.6% in the third quarter. Ogorek Anthony Joseph NY ADV now owns 1,000 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Halliburton Stock Performance

HAL traded down $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.58. The stock had a trading volume of 9,377,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,147,902. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.06. Halliburton has a twelve month low of $27.84 and a twelve month high of $43.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.39.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 31.59% and a net margin of 11.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Halliburton will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on HAL shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Halliburton from $46.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Halliburton from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

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.