Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Acquires 5,480 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. raised its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 45.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 321,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,481,000 after acquiring an additional 100,723 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 9,041.9% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 10,696 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 10,579 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 180,901 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,589,000 after purchasing an additional 25,713 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger by 5.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,159,818 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $48,654,000 after purchasing an additional 60,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Schlumberger by 2.8% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 18,501 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $42.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. 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 Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.27 and a 200 day moving average of $41.42.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. This represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock worth $12,546,660. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Griffin Securities lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.