Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Has $3.95 Million Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,155 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 24,958 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 761,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,961,000 after acquiring an additional 156,698 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,838 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 502.6% during the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 198,024 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,592,000 after acquiring an additional 165,162 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 225.5% during the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 74,645 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 51,715 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 306,183 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,739,000 after acquiring an additional 16,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $41.29 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $56.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SLB. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

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.