Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 191,855 Shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Weatherford International plc (NASDAQ:WFRD) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,284,626 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,855 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Weatherford International were worth $125,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,785,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,254,000 after buying an additional 120,401 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Weatherford International by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,646,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,742,000 after buying an additional 76,058 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,340,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,097,000 after buying an additional 65,935 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Weatherford International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,430,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Weatherford International by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 902,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,479,000 after buying an additional 167,622 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Weatherford International news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total value of $6,214,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,213,915.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Girish Saligram sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.57, for a total transaction of $6,214,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,213,915.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Benjamin Duster sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.98, for a total value of $1,163,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,801 shares in the company, valued at $1,241,440.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,455 shares of company stock valued at $13,628,764. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Weatherford International Price Performance

WFRD opened at $115.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.79. Weatherford International plc has a 52-week low of $55.81 and a 52-week high of $127.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.95.

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Weatherford International had a return on equity of 56.68% and a net margin of 8.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Weatherford International plc will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFRD. Raymond James boosted their target price on Weatherford International from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays began coverage on Weatherford International in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Weatherford International from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Weatherford International from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Weatherford International from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Weatherford International Company Profile

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention.