Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys 19,873 Shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 2,258.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 19,873 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Schlumberger by 45.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 321,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,481,000 after buying an additional 100,723 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Schlumberger by 9,041.9% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 10,696 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 10,579 shares in the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Schlumberger by 44.5% during the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,360 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Schlumberger by 6.7% in the third quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 7,169 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 24,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Schlumberger

In related news, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total transaction of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,595 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.44, for a total transaction of $2,486,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 210,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,723,202.88. This represents a 22.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

SLB opened at $41.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47. 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 fifty day moving average price of $41.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.41. Schlumberger Limited has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $55.69.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last issued its quarterly 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. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Schlumberger’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.38 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. This is a boost 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 presently 36.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLB shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $53.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Griffin Securities downgraded Schlumberger from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.81.

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.