Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $3.92 Million Stock Position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,537 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Schlumberger by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 98,762 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,758,000 after buying an additional 19,909 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at $273,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Schlumberger by 1.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 74,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Schlumberger by 5.8% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 65,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,602 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $370,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Schlumberger from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.59.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,897.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CTO Demosthenis Pafitis sold 63,095 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $3,044,964.70. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 33,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,897.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 4,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.43, for a total value of $216,281.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $977,956.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 106,158 shares of company stock valued at $5,099,893 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SLB stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.18. 14,139,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,274,646. The company has a market capitalization of $67.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.57. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $42.61 and a 52 week high of $62.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio is 36.54%.

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.