Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 647 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth about $70,000. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV grew its stake in Schlumberger by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 90,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,461,000 after acquiring an additional 41,073 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,000. First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 40,154 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 6,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 201.9% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 201,023 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,707,000 after purchasing an additional 134,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Trading Up 4.0 %

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.36 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The stock has a market cap of $56.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.64.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 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.