Busey Bank Purchases 148,172 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Busey Bank raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 74.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,442 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 148,172 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $13,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $470,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,851 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,322,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,481,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 395.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 778,938 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,676,000 after acquiring an additional 621,809 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $40.87 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 258,258 shares of company stock worth $11,219,004 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About Schlumberger

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.