Welch Group LLC Buys 409 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Welch Group LLC raised its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,206 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.23 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.42 and a 200-day moving average of $42.43. The company has a market capitalization of $57.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. The trade was a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.