Norges Bank Takes Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,180,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $735,398,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 468.9% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Griffin Securities cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.69.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $42.14 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.43. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

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.