Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Bought by Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,197 shares during the quarter. Schlumberger makes up about 0.7% of Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $3,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Schlumberger by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,209,014 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,808,476,000 after buying an additional 528,279 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,608,226 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,195,290,000 after acquiring an additional 239,966 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 12,289.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,043,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $500,082,000 after acquiring an additional 12,938,082 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 20.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,213,944 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $470,425,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Schlumberger by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,103,715 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $310,696,000 after purchasing an additional 915,925 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In other news, insider Bejar Carmen Rando sold 5,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.41, for a total transaction of $223,224.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $309,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold a total of 263,782 shares of company stock worth $11,442,229 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Schlumberger from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Griffin Securities cut shares of Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.81.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $41.75 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.96. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.51.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 3rd. Shareholders 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 2.73%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

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.