Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in NOV Inc. $NOV

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of NOV Inc. (NYSE:NOV) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,441,382 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 742,312 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of NOV worth $509,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOV. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in NOV by 1,845.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 235,081 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 223,000 shares in the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd grew its holdings in NOV by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 670,199 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $8,880,000 after buying an additional 166,692 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of NOV by 239.0% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 141,506 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 99,765 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH purchased a new position in shares of NOV in the third quarter worth $3,978,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of NOV by 111.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 476,044 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $6,006,000 after buying an additional 250,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting NOV

Here are the key news stories impacting NOV this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NOV raised its quarterly dividend to $0.09 (from $0.08), payable Mar 27 with an ex‑dividend date Mar 13 — a modest income boost that can support the share price and attract yield‑seeking investors. MarketBeat: NOV dividend & stock summary
• Positive Sentiment: Selective institutional buying was reported in Q4 (notably Price T. Rowe adding a large position), which can underpin demand even as other funds trim exposure. QuiverQuant: NOV institutional activity
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed but provides valuation context — recent price targets cluster around ~$20 (median ~$20), so upgrades/maintains may stabilize trading even if upside is limited. MarketBeat: analyst ratings & targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 revenue ran about $2.28–2.30B (down ~1.3% YoY) — not a large deterioration but consistent with a cautious near‑term backdrop for drilling activity. QuiverQuant: NOV financials & activity
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: President Joseph W. Rovig sold ~151,086 shares (~$3.05M) and VP/Sr. VP Craig Weinstock sold ~70,000 shares (plus an earlier 10,495‑share sale). These sizable, contemporaneous insider dispositions are typically read negatively by the market and likely pressured the stock. SEC filing: Rovig sale InsiderTrades: Weinstock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Operational and earnings concerns linger — NOV missed Q4 EPS expectations earlier this month and analysts highlight softer drilling activity, cautious M&A posture and offshore/wind uncertainty, which can cap near‑term upside. Zacks: analyst commentary on Q4 weakness

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of NOV from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $19.00 price objective on shares of NOV in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NOV from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 target price on NOV in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of NOV in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.36.

NOV Price Performance

NYSE:NOV opened at $20.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.37. NOV Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.84 and a 1 year high of $20.85.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.17 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that NOV Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

NOV Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This is an increase from NOV’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. NOV’s payout ratio is currently 78.95%.

Insider Activity

In other NOV news, insider Joseph W. Rovig sold 151,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.17, for a total transaction of $3,047,404.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 269,694 shares in the company, valued at $5,439,727.98. The trade was a 35.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Craig L. Weinstock sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.08, for a total value of $1,405,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 256,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,146,885.52. This represents a 21.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About NOV

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.