Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 543,676 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 57.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,490,867 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 543,676 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $40,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Halliburton during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 698 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Halliburton by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Halliburton by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,759 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In related news, CFO Eric Carre sold 141,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,321,149.13. This trade represents a 52.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 3,900 shares of Halliburton stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.04, for a total value of $93,756.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $253,646.04. This trade represents a 26.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Price Performance

HAL stock opened at $25.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.81 and its 200-day moving average is $28.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.84. Halliburton has a 1 year low of $23.42 and a 1 year high of $41.56.

Halliburton Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Halliburton from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lowered Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Benchmark cut their target price on Halliburton from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Halliburton from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.42.

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.