Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 58,708 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 9,084 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 393.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 1,068.3% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $43.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.92. The firm has a market cap of $61.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9,241,140 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 21.84%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares in the company, valued at $8,880,160.30. The trade was a 22.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $65.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $55.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.03.

Schlumberger 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.