Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires Shares of 214,582 Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 214,582 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,227,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SLB. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 35,334 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 16,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $647,000 after buying an additional 2,742 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 10,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Schlumberger by 119.1% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 506,642 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $19,425,000 after buying an additional 275,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $41.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.00 and a 200-day moving average of $41.46. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at $10,331,655.04. This represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Schlumberger

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.