Ellis Investment Partners LLC Sells 1,694 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,868 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,694 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Atb Cap Markets lowered Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,595 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,204.30. This represents a 33.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $1,897,357.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,331,655.04. This trade represents a 15.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of SLB opened at $41.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given 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 2.73%. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

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.