Apriem Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Apriem Advisors reduced its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 198,165 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 42,019 shares during the quarter. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Schlumberger were worth $7,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SLB. Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 228,612 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 42,154 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Schlumberger by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,156,820 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $121,032,000 after buying an additional 445,438 shares during the period. Lingotto Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,965,064 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $152,021,000 after buying an additional 205,256 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new stake in Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 586,409 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $22,483,000 after acquiring an additional 279,369 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $40.53 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.85. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The stock has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. The trade was a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,160.34. This trade represents a 40.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

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.