Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Buys 1,917 Shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,528 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $3,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HAL. Hedeker Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Halliburton by 9.5% during the first quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 84,614 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 7,355 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Halliburton by 30.5% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,604 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton during the first quarter worth $201,000. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 8.1% during the first quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 129,100 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 9,720 shares during the period. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC grew its holdings in shares of Halliburton by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 69,350 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock worth $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 5,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HAL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Halliburton from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Halliburton

In other Halliburton news, insider Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 38,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total value of $1,437,701.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 130,783 shares in the company, valued at $4,828,508.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total value of $369,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 283,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,481,883.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey Shannon Slocum sold 38,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.92, for a total transaction of $1,437,701.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 130,783 shares in the company, valued at $4,828,508.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,704 in the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Halliburton Stock Up 0.4 %

Halliburton stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,353,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,256,857. Halliburton has a 1-year low of $32.35 and a 1-year high of $43.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.93.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.20% and a return on equity of 30.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Halliburton will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. Halliburton’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.53%.

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.