Essex Financial Services Inc. Purchases 1,333 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,490 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 393.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $41.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SLB shares. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.