Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Grows Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,258,919 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 740,127 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.23% of Schlumberger worth $124,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Schlumberger by 468.9% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SLB shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,799.89. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.7 %

SLB stock opened at $42.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.43. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $55.69. 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 (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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 was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

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.