Ledyard National Bank Makes New Investment in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ledyard National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $286,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182,706 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $469,693,000 after buying an additional 2,085,506 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $488,020,000 after buying an additional 1,954,620 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 156.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,974,987 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $173,442,000 after buying an additional 1,814,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,555,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $323,895,000 after buying an additional 1,807,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.72.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 242,932 shares in the company, valued at $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,295 shares of company stock worth $3,707,595. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $48.46. 4,745,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,079,728. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.37. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $42.73 and a 52-week high of $62.12. The stock has a market cap of $69.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.75 and its 200 day moving average is $52.02.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Schlumberger Company Profile

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.