Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,343,805 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 144,031 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Schlumberger were worth $90,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLB. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. increased its position in shares of Schlumberger by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 25,495 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. acquired a new position in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the 4th quarter worth about $914,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Schlumberger by 159.0% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 92,515 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,547,000 after buying an additional 56,801 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.99% of the company’s stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SLB opened at $42.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.45. Schlumberger Limited has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $55.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.92 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.24 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. This is a positive change from Schlumberger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Schlumberger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 123,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.09, for a total transaction of $5,427,346.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 184,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,160.34. This represents a 40.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vijay Kasibhatla sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.94, for a total value of $1,098,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 290,772 shares of company stock valued at $12,546,660. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Schlumberger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.69.

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.