Mengis Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 102,975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,786 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.87. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total value of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock valued at $11,442,229 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.