Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Purchased by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,457,665 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,688 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger comprises 1.9% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $94,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Schlumberger by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 19,797 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 0.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its position in Schlumberger by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $33.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $31.11 and a 1 year high of $51.96. The stock has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.92.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SLB. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Schlumberger from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total value of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,799.89. The trade was a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,723,202.88. This trade represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 315,905 shares of company stock worth $13,609,283 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.