Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 304,966 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 1,541 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $8,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HAL. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 101.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 34.2% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 28.8% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,759 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. 85.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.13, for a total value of $3,689,712.78. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Halliburton from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Halliburton from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group downgraded Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Halliburton from $43.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.42.

Halliburton Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HAL opened at $26.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.02. The stock has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.89. Halliburton has a 52-week low of $25.16 and a 52-week high of $41.56.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.03%.

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.