Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $352,000 Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,177 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Schlumberger by 4,640.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 202,635 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,501,000 after buying an additional 198,360 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 6.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 47,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 2,986 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 27.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 18,797 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Schlumberger by 9.4% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 24,614 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 3.6% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 15,504 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.51 on Tuesday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The company has a market cap of $56.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced 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 net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders 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 represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLB. Barclays reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued 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, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.