Argyle Capital Management Inc. Sells 14,000 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,825 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after selling 14,000 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $1,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Halliburton by 443.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Halliburton during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Halliburton in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Halliburton by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Halliburton Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HAL traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,056,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,718,629. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Halliburton has a twelve month low of $27.84 and a twelve month high of $43.85. The stock has a market cap of $34.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 2.00.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. Halliburton had a return on equity of 30.84% and a net margin of 11.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Halliburton will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halliburton

In other news, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $176,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,762.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller sold 377,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $13,308,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 759,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,793,229.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Margaret Katherine Banks sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $176,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $339,762.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Halliburton from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Halliburton in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.82.

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.