Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Acquired by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,744 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,205 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $5,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 79.7% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,919,990 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $286,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182,706 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $469,693,000 after buying an additional 2,085,506 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Schlumberger by 30.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954,620 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,555,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $323,895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Schlumberger by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,528,372 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,609,804,000 after buying an additional 1,412,821 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total transaction of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,816,212.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $47.86 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $42.73 and a 1-year high of $62.12. The stock has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.70 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 21.88%. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.54%.

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.