Patron Partners LLC Raises Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Patron Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,201 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Schlumberger by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,112,864 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,624,000 after purchasing an additional 116,578 shares during the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter valued at about $203,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 84.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $44.29 on Tuesday. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $38.66 and a 52 week high of $55.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.27 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 12.44%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is 35.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLB. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Schlumberger from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Schlumberger from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.97.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $2,514,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 211,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,880,160.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Company 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.