Stephens Inc. AR Increases Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 81.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,509 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,474 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,708,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $42.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.06 and a 200 day moving average of $42.09. The firm has a market cap of $58.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

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