Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Stock Position Trimmed by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation cut its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 68.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,193 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 104,218 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $39.81 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.76. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The company has a market capitalization of $54.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45.

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 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on SLB shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Griffin Securities downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Corporate 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.