Loudon Investment Management LLC Buys 36,229 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Loudon Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 749.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,064 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,229 shares during the period. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 3.8% in the third quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Schlumberger by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Schlumberger stock opened at $41.29 on Friday. 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 is $41.13 and its 200-day moving average is $41.43. 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 company has a market capitalization of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gavin Rennick sold 26,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.92, for a total value of $1,104,430.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,192,657.28. The trade was a 33.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Schlumberger from $61.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets lowered Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.