Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 37.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,488 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 2,494.0% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 101,426 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,278,000 after acquiring an additional 97,516 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Schlumberger by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,424,625 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $74,080,000 after acquiring an additional 380,185 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 607,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,726,000 after acquiring an additional 35,763 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,389,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.59.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total value of $1,838,647.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,213,686.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Schlumberger news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $3,044,964.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,897.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 38,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.28, for a total value of $1,838,647.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,213,686.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,158 shares of company stock valued at $5,099,893. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.18. The stock had a trading volume of 14,139,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,274,646. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $42.61 and a 52-week high of $62.12. The company has a market cap of $67.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

Schlumberger 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.