Violich Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Violich Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,250 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 18,033 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 393.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 607 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Schlumberger Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE SLB opened at $41.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51. Schlumberger Limited has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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. This represents a 15.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Atb Cap Markets cut Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.