Private Advisor Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,834 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 10,412 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $5,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.73 on Friday. 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 Limited has a 52 week low of $36.52 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders 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 2.73%. This is a boost from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 210,502 shares in the company, valued at $8,723,202.88. The trade was 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 Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLB. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Griffin Securities downgraded shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.81.

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.