Beta Wealth Group Inc. Takes $3.96 Million Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Beta Wealth Group Inc. bought a new stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 103,400 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,964,000. Schlumberger accounts for about 1.8% of Beta Wealth Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB stock opened at $41.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. 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 price of $40.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.96. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its 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 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 company posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.73%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SLB shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.