California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 337,213 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 18.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,188,469 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after buying an additional 337,213 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $85,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HAL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Halliburton by 7.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 92,754 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,353,000 after buying an additional 6,507 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Halliburton by 39.0% during 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 grew its holdings in Halliburton by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 52,045 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 10,408 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Halliburton by 309.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 68,946 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 52,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the first quarter valued at about $895,000. Institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Halliburton this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Halliburton won multiple multi-year Saudi Aramco contracts, including work tied to the Jafurah gas project and a 285-well campaign, expanding its footprint in a key growth market. Halliburton Lands Aramco Deal for Saudi Arabia’s Jafurah Gas Project
• Positive Sentiment: Offshore and industry coverage pointed to Halliburton “reaping rewards” from Aramco-led awards, reinforcing expectations for stronger international activity and backlog growth. Deals of the week: Halliburton reaps rewards as Aramco leads the prizegiving
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted Halliburton’s deepwater momentum, suggesting continued strength in activity trends beyond Saudi Arabia. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) Gains on Deepwater Momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Halliburton is nearing its Q2 earnings report, with investors watching for signs that stronger completion and drilling activity offset Middle East disruptions and higher costs. Halliburton Set to Report Q2 Earnings: Key Things To Watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage from MarketWatch and other outlets largely reiterated the Aramco contract news, which keeps the market focused on backlog and project execution rather than a new catalyst. Halliburton Gets Aramco Contracts for Saudi Oil Wells

Halliburton Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HAL opened at $35.24 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.34. Halliburton Company has a 12 month low of $20.17 and a 12 month high of $43.59. 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 capitalization of $29.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.71.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. Halliburton had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Halliburton’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Halliburton Company will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 37.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zephirin Group upped their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus raised their target price on Halliburton from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Halliburton from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Halliburton from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Nineteen 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael Casey Maxwell sold 20,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.89, for a total value of $852,377.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 93,763 shares in the company, valued at $3,927,732.07. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total value of $8,189,830.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,036,019.94. The trade was a 57.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 258,255 shares of company stock worth $10,550,535. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.