Alberta Investment Management Corp Buys 47,920 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 72.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,920 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $4,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Up 1.0 %

Schlumberger stock opened at $42.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $59.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.17 and its 200 day moving average is $41.92. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69.

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. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Schlumberger news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.