Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Acquired by FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,422 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 931 shares during the quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 81.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

Shares of SLB stock opened at $40.53 on Thursday. Schlumberger Limited has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $55.69. The company has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Schlumberger’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Griffin Securities cut Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Schlumberger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

Insider Activity at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,204.30. This trade represents a 33.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Ugo Prechner sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total value of $309,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,808. The trade was a 38.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger 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.