Sterling Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Halliburton Company $HAL

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 45.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,261 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 23,266 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 20,583 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 25.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 309.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 52,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the first quarter worth about $895,000. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total transaction of $255,535.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,230. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Timothy Mckeon sold 8,655 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.00, for a total value of $363,510.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 72,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,064,992. The trade was a 10.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE:HAL opened at $33.93 on Wednesday. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $20.09 and a 12 month high of $43.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $28.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.69.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 6.95%.The business’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Capital One Financial lifted their target price on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Halliburton from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.27.

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.