Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 63.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,335,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 517,479 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Schlumberger worth $51,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SLB. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 51,526 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,244,975 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $316,112,000 after acquiring an additional 254,178 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 9,071 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $41.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.66. Schlumberger Limited has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $55.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.