Lincoln National Corp Sells 4,603 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Lincoln National Corp lessened its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,603 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 3.4% in the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 6,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 7.8% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,109 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.7% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,841 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Dowling & Yahnke LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% during the third quarter. Dowling & Yahnke LLC now owns 19,716 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2.6% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 11,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, January 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, October 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna Bancshares upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Howard Guild sold 20,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $1,062,809.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 35,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,907,682. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kevin Fyfe sold 6,095 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total value of $323,035.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 35,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,883,355. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 20,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,809.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,682. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 269,389 shares of company stock valued at $15,026,271. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB stock opened at $55.47 on Wednesday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $30.65 and a 52 week high of $62.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.79.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 20th. The oil and gas company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 18.51%. The business had revenue of $7.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 8th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.17%.

Schlumberger Company Profile

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Schlumberger NV engages in the provision of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production and processing to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following business segments: Digital and Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The Digital and Integration segment combines the company’s software and seismic businesses with its integrated offering of asset performance solutions.