Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Holdings Lifted by Prospector Partners LLC

Prospector Partners LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 253,095 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 805 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $9,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $735,398,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 12,289.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Schlumberger by 43,028.0% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,652,804 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $101,708,000 after buying an additional 2,646,653 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,396,967 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $590,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 196.9% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 11.3 %

Shares of Schlumberger stock opened at $34.77 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 firm has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.02 and its 200 day moving average is $41.45. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $34.04 and a one year high of $55.65.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total value of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,160.34. The trade was a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.79.

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.