Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 50.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,479 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 87,102 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised 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 valued at $500,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,938,082 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after buying an additional 1,916,851 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,607,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,696,000 after acquiring an additional 915,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the third quarter worth approximately $37,322,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $56.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $55.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.81.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. 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 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Company 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.