Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by Private Portfolio Partners LLC

Private Portfolio Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,855 shares during the quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth about $735,398,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 43,028.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,652,804 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $101,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646,653 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,396,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $590,320,000 after buying an additional 1,700,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 196.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,312,304 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $88,654,000 after buying an additional 1,533,366 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 315,905 shares of company stock valued at $13,609,283 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $42.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. 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 one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.65.

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 return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.285 dividend. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on SLB shares. Barclays lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, December 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.69.

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.