Blue Trust Inc. Buys 5,962 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,073 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,962 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,817 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,370 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,701 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cordatus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,383 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Dianne B. Ralston sold 43,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $1,897,357.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 235,024 shares in the company, valued at $10,331,655.04. The trade was a 15.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. This trade represents a 38.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 198,258 shares of company stock worth $8,732,604. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:SLB opened at $41.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.73 and its 200 day moving average is $42.69. Schlumberger Limited has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 21.90%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s payout ratio is currently 35.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.81.

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.