Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 55.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,011 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,988 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,528,372 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,609,804,000 after buying an additional 1,412,821 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Schlumberger by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,171,516 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,584,099,000 after purchasing an additional 282,709 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,790,074 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $920,561,000 after purchasing an additional 292,817 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,370,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $488,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,056,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $469,693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,506 shares in the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $47.66 on Monday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $42.73 and a 52-week high of $62.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.75. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.88% and a net margin of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is presently 36.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.64, for a total value of $304,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 242,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,816,212.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.72.

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.